Maybe… chill out on this trend.
There are countless recovery gadgets on the market, from electromagnetic blankets to full-body red light chambers — but one low-tech, low-cost tool has emerged as a favorite among biohackers, Olympians and plenty of pro athletes.
Proponents swear by it — but new research suggests it might not be so helpful after all. In fact, it may leave you worse off than if you’d done nothing at all.
The recovery habit in question is cold water therapy — like ice baths, cold plunges, cold showers, and open-water swimming — after a workout.
It’s been used for centuries for post-exercise recovery as a way to combat muscle stiffness, fatigue and muscle damage for better performance the next day.
But a new study published in the Journal of Thermal Biology suggests it could actually do the opposite, leaving muscles damaged for longer while doing nothing for pain and soreness.
What researchers found
Researchers had 40 participants measure their starting quadricep leg strength.
After doing leg extensions, they did another measurement — and their maximum strength fell by 36%.
Then, participants were split into four groups for different recovery treatments: a hot (108°F) water soak for 30 minutes, a cold water (48°F) soak for 15 minutes, sauna-like conditions with warm (86°F) air for 30 minutes with 30% humidity, and a control group at a cool room temperature (64°F) and elevated humidity (30%).
Cold water was found to do less than the other treatments — including doing nothing at all — in two main ways: Those who did the cold water plunge recovered slightly less maximum strength and also had more lasting muscle damage.
All treatments other than cold water helped participants recover 88 to 89% of their maximum strength within the next three days. The cold water group recovered slightly less (82%) over the same period.
Researchers also looked at levels of an enzyme caused by muscle damage in the blood. They found that levels returned to normal quickest with a hot water soak (two days), and slightly longer for hot air and doing nothing (three days).
Those who had the cold water soak still had elevated damage markers three days later.
None of the treatments made a difference when it came to pain and muscle soreness, which remained high after three days across all treatments. The cold-water group did report less pain a day later compared to the other groups, but this had increased again by the two-day mark — indicating only temporary relief or masking pain.
Throwing cold water on a beloved recovery balm
This research adds to a number of recent studies casting doubt on cold water therapies.
Recently, doing a cold plunge showed no benefits for women, and other studies showed it could mess with muscle growth and nutrient flow.
Still, experts say athletes don’t have to ditch their ice baths if it works for them.
“[It] may assist with repeated bouts of continuous activity in the heat as well as blunt perceived muscle soreness and fatigue during multi-day events where rapid recovery is required,” Mike Tipton told New Scientist.
