Abstract
Coaching professionals implement post-workout ice baths with athletes; however, minimal research exists demonstrating the effectiveness of these practices on athletic performance and recovery. Purpose: To assess the effects of a post-workout ice bath on recovery. Methods: Ten athletic subjects (18-24 yrs; 171.5±11.2 cm.; 68.1±14.9 kg; 23.0±3.5 BMI) were tested for flexibility (sit-and-reach), power (vertical jump), strength (squat), agility (5-10-5), speed (10-m) and pain perception (scale). Following performance measures, each athlete completed a damaging eccentric plyometric protocol. Athletes were randomly assigned into a post-workout ice bath group (ICE), which took a 15 minute ice bath (10° C) following exercise protocol; or a control group (CON). All subjects reported 48-hours post- for same performance measures. Results: A 2 time (pre-, post-) x 2 condition (ICE, CON) repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) demonstrated significant (p = 0.005) differences favoring ICE in post-exercise pain alleviation (1.4±0.9 pre 0.6±08 post, ICE; 0.7±1.0 pre 3.4±0.5 post, CON). ANOVA demonstrated non-significant (p ≥ 0.05) differences in flexibility (34.5±7.3 pre 35.6±7.7 post, ICE; 35.1±2.7 pre 33.6±4.3 post, CON), power (64.2±11.0 cm. pre 61.9±10.8 cm. post, ICE; 61.5±8.2 cm. pre 62.2±8.0 cm. post, CON), strength (101.4±45.4 kg. pre 103.5±46.5 kg. post, ICE; 106.9±23.7 kg.pre 62.2±8.0 cm. post, CON) agility (5.2±0.9 sec. pre 5.4±0.6 sec. post, ICE; 5.6±0.6 sec pre 5.7±0.3 sec. post, CON) and speed (1.8±0.3 sec. pre 1.8±0.3 sec. post, ICE; 1.8±0.3 sec. pre 2.0±0.1 sec. post, CON). Conclusion: Benefits of post-workout ice bath cooling can be seen in recovery measures of pain perception, but not in performance.
Faculty Sponsors
Corey A. Peacock, Ph.D., Jeff Doeringer, Ph.D.
Project Type
Event
Location
Alvin Sherman Library
Start Date
4-10-2015 1:00 PM
End Date
4-10-2015 5:30 PM
Post-Exercise Ice Bath (10 Degrees Celsius) and Athlete Recovery
Alvin Sherman Library
Coaching professionals implement post-workout ice baths with athletes; however, minimal research exists demonstrating the effectiveness of these practices on athletic performance and recovery. Purpose: To assess the effects of a post-workout ice bath on recovery. Methods: Ten athletic subjects (18-24 yrs; 171.5±11.2 cm.; 68.1±14.9 kg; 23.0±3.5 BMI) were tested for flexibility (sit-and-reach), power (vertical jump), strength (squat), agility (5-10-5), speed (10-m) and pain perception (scale). Following performance measures, each athlete completed a damaging eccentric plyometric protocol. Athletes were randomly assigned into a post-workout ice bath group (ICE), which took a 15 minute ice bath (10° C) following exercise protocol; or a control group (CON). All subjects reported 48-hours post- for same performance measures. Results: A 2 time (pre-, post-) x 2 condition (ICE, CON) repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) demonstrated significant (p = 0.005) differences favoring ICE in post-exercise pain alleviation (1.4±0.9 pre 0.6±08 post, ICE; 0.7±1.0 pre 3.4±0.5 post, CON). ANOVA demonstrated non-significant (p ≥ 0.05) differences in flexibility (34.5±7.3 pre 35.6±7.7 post, ICE; 35.1±2.7 pre 33.6±4.3 post, CON), power (64.2±11.0 cm. pre 61.9±10.8 cm. post, ICE; 61.5±8.2 cm. pre 62.2±8.0 cm. post, CON), strength (101.4±45.4 kg. pre 103.5±46.5 kg. post, ICE; 106.9±23.7 kg.pre 62.2±8.0 cm. post, CON) agility (5.2±0.9 sec. pre 5.4±0.6 sec. post, ICE; 5.6±0.6 sec pre 5.7±0.3 sec. post, CON) and speed (1.8±0.3 sec. pre 1.8±0.3 sec. post, ICE; 1.8±0.3 sec. pre 2.0±0.1 sec. post, CON). Conclusion: Benefits of post-workout ice bath cooling can be seen in recovery measures of pain perception, but not in performance.
