Sport and recovery: End of the Ice Bath Age?
Australian football internationals
Mark Schwarzer, Luke Wiltshire and Matt McKay grin and bear it as they
suffer in the heat of Qatar.
- Leading report questions how efficient the use of ice baths is for leading athletes
- British scientist Jo Corbett warns that the practice could be a "threat to people's health"
- Sydney FC physiotherapist believes placebo effect can make cold water immersion worthwhile for his players
(CNN) -- High-intensity training can often be a
cruel master -- capable of provoking a mixture of sweat and tears, as
well as occasional mishap and mental frailty -- but how much worse must
it be when knowing that the worst part comes at the end?
That's when an exhausted
athlete, after hours of physical exertion, has to clamber into a vat of
iced water -- perhaps giving new meaning to the phrase 'on the rocks'.
During her heyday, Paula
Radcliffe, who still holds the world record for the marathon she ran in
2003, revealed how she dreaded the baths, which the Briton termed
"absolute agony".
So Radcliffe may have
mixed emotions about a recent report which pours cold water on the
efficacy of a concept already quite literally swimming in the stuff.
The European Journal of
Sports Science suggests the benefits of the ice bath -- a technique
which has been used in numerous sports disciplines (track-and-field,
soccer, NFL, cricket, rugby and tennis to name but a few) -- are highly
questionable.
More worryingly still,
the scientists who led an experiment into cold water immersion at the
University of Portsmouth suggest the practice could be a "possible
threat to people's health" as well.
In theory, the recovery
device -- whose by-products include a whole lot of gnashing, squealing
and wailing -- is thought to reduce inflammation, swelling, muscle
spasms and pain but the benefits have been disputed by the scientists on
England's south coast.
Their test involved 40
athletes undertaking an hour and a half of intermittent shuttle running
before being split into four groups for the recovery period: with 10
standing in cold water, 10 standing in warm water and 10 simply walking
slowly -- all over a 12-minute period -- while the final group sat in
cold water for just two minutes.
Measuring muscle
performance before exercise and at frequent intervals in the days
afterwards, the scientists found "no differences ... between any of the
groups in terms of athletes' perception of pain or in their biochemical
markers of muscle cell damage."
Health Risks
So while not only
querying the fundamental validity of the process, lead author Jo Corbett
also highlights the possibility that the intended recovery aid could --
rather than prove beneficial -- actually take an athlete out of action
instead.
"Possible health risks
of cold water immersion include hyperventilation leading to metabolic
alkalosis [an acid-based disturbance] and, in rare cases, impaired
consciousness," Corbett told CNN.
"There is also some
evidence of a reduction in cerebral artery blood flow, which at very
cold water temperatures can cause syncope [fainting] characterized by
drowsiness, blurred vision, and a loss of responsiveness in some
individuals."
Other possible health
risks of ice baths, according to Dr Corbett, include tachycardia [a fast
heart beat], arrhythmias [abnormal heart beats], allergic and
anaphylactic shock as well as the development of non-freezing cold
injury [a tissue damage similar to, but lacking the severity of,
frostbite].
In theory, both
arrhythmias and anaphylactic shock can have fatal consequences -- so
it's no surprise that Dr Corbett would like to see more tests into ice
baths, even if it must be stressed that no athlete has yet to suffer in
such fashion despite their popularity.
"The prevalence of these
risks will likely depend on the way that the immersion is used -- which
is why there needs to be a clear understanding of the mechanisms of
action of cold water immersion.
"The frequency of these symptoms in healthy, asymptomatic individuals is not clear but may be very low."
Placebo effect
Before athletes around
the world gain an added spring to their step at the thought of throwing
out the bath water, Corbett advises that the conclusions of his team's
study should not be set in stone-- "particularly when there is evidence
for and against [ice baths]," he says.
Nonetheless, some
leading clubs have already been in touch since the report's publication
to pursue further detail on the findings.
In Australia, the Head
of Human Performance at leading football side Sydney FC admits that even
though confusion may reign over the longevity of cold water immersion,
given the differing scientific opinions, he does not foresee the end of
this ice age.
"I have learned throughout my career that if a player thinks it works, it probably does," Dr Craig Duncan, told CNN.
"The placebo affect in
sport is significant and if you combine that with a good performance, it
will become a major part of a player's preparation. This is so for
recovery and the feedback I get from players [about ice baths] is:
-My muscles feel less sore
-I don't feel as heavy, my legs feel lighter
-I feel refreshed
-It's just what I like to do
-I do it because Craig says I have to
Alternatively, if I find
a player really gets stressed about it, then there really is no point
as I think it will have little positive effect."
Given this viewpoint,
the players at Sydney FC, where former Italy international Alessandro
del Piero is playing following his recent move from Juventus, may do
well to remind Dr Duncan of his failsafe methods of recovery.
"Recovery is a massive
area with many different views but we can never get away from the fact
that the two key ingredients to positive recovery are Good Sleep and
Sound Nutrition," he says.
So a nice feed followed by a warm bed -- or being immersed into an iced bath -- to recover.
Hmmm, let me think...
