Abstract
CONTEXT Cold-water immersion (CWI) has been applied widely as a recovery method, but little evidence is available to support its effectiveness. OBJECTIVE To investigate the effects of CWI on muscle damage, perceived muscle soreness, and muscle power recovery of the upper and lower limbs after jiu-jitsu training. DESIGN Crossover study. SETTING Laboratory and field. PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS A total of 8 highly trained male athletes (age = 24.0 ± 3.6 years, mass = 78.4 ± 2.4 kg, percentage of body fat = 13.1% ± 3.6%) completed all study phases. INTERVENTION(S): We randomly selected half of the sample for recovery using CWI (6.0°C ± 0.5°C) for 19 minutes; the other participants were allocated to the control condition (passive recovery). Treatments were reversed in the second session (after 1 week). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): We measured serum levels of creatine phosphokinase, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), aspartate aminotransferase, and alanine aminotransferase enzymes; perceived muscle soreness; and recovery through visual analogue scales and muscle power of the upper and lower limbs at pretraining, postrecovery, 24 hours, and 48 hours. RESULTS Athletes who underwent CWI showed better posttraining recovery measures because circulating LDH levels were lower at 24 hours postrecovery in the CWI condition (441.9 ± 81.4 IU/L) than in the control condition (493.6 ± 97.4 IU/L; P = .03). Estimated muscle power was higher in the CWI than in the control condition for both upper limbs (757.9 ± 125.1 W versus 695.9 ± 56.1 W) and lower limbs (53.7 ± 3.7 cm versus 35.5 ± 8.2 cm; both P values = .001). In addition, we observed less perceived muscle soreness (1.5 ± 1.1 arbitrary units [au] versus 3.1 ± 1.0 au; P = .004) and higher perceived recovery (8.8 ± 1.9 au versus 6.9 ± 1.7 au; P = .005) in the CWI than in the control condition at 24 hours postrecovery. CONCLUSIONS Use of CWI can be beneficial to jiu-jitsu athletes because it reduces circulating LDH levels, results in less perceived muscle soreness, and helps muscle power recovery at 24 hours postrecovery.
