title: Cold Water Immersion is Acutely Detrimental but Increases Performance Post-12 h in Rugby Players.
abstract: We evaluated the effectiveness of cold water immersion on recovery of performance (i. e., the ability of repetitively performing a physical test) in rugby players acutely and 12 h later. 8 male rugby union players (23±4.7 years; 176.9±4.5 cm; 87.5±8.6 kg) performed a rugby-specific exercise protocol (40 min) followed by recovery strategies: cold water immersion (8.9±0.6°C; 9 min with 1 min out of water, repeated twice) or control (players remained seated for 20 min) in a random order. The players underwent performance tests (countermovement and 30 s continuous jumps and agility T) at 4 time points: at baseline, immediately after rugby-specific exercise, post-recovery strategies and 12 h later. The performance of the agility and countermovement jump test were not different between cold water immersion and control immediately post rugby-specific exercises and 12 h thereafter. However, the 30 s continuous jump test performance decreased immediately but increased 12 h later after cold water immersion compared with control. Perception of recovery was better in the cold water immersion group compared with controls post 12 h exercise. Cold water immersion improves 30 s continuous jump performance, total quality recovery and seems to be an easy and practical tool for coaches and players, especially during congested periods of the season when fast recovery (~12 h) for the following activity is essential.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sport Sciences, Human Performance and Sport Research Group, Federal University of Triângulo Mineiro, Uberaba, Brazil.
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Garcia
authors.affiliation: Department of Sport Sciences, Human Performance and Sport Research Group, Federal University of Triângulo Mineiro, Uberaba, Brazil.
authors.forename: G R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: da Mota
authors.affiliation: Department of Sport Sciences, Human Performance and Sport Research Group, Federal University of Triângulo Mineiro, Uberaba, Brazil.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Marocolo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D056352:Athletes; D054874:Athletic Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D003080:Cold Temperature; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D005080:Exercise Test; D005538:Football / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007101:Immersion; D008297:Male; D014867:Water; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D014867:Water