Influence of body composition on physiological responses to post-exercise hydrotherapy

Area of Science:

• Exercise Physiology
• Thermoregulation
• Body Composition

Background:

• Post-exercise recovery interventions like cold water immersion (CWI) are widely used.
• Individual responses to CWI can vary significantly.
• The role of body composition in modulating these responses remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how different body compositions influence physiological responses to post-exercise cold water immersion (CWI), hot water immersion (HWI), and a control (CON) condition.
• To determine if body mass and fat percentage affect temperature regulation and blood flow during recovery.

Main Methods:

• Twenty-seven male participants were categorized into low mass/low fat (LM-LF), high mass/low fat (HM-LF), and high mass/high fat (HM-HF) groups.
• Participants underwent a standardized cycling exercise followed by 15-minute recovery in CWI, HWI, or CON.
• Core, skin, and muscle temperatures, along with limb blood flow, were monitored for 240 minutes post-exercise.

Main Results:

• During CON and HWI, no significant differences in core or muscle temperature were observed across body composition groups.
• Following CWI, the LM-LF group exhibited a significantly faster rate of core temperature decrease compared to the HM-HF group.
• Muscle temperature reduction during CWI was more pronounced in LM-LF and HM-LF groups than in the HM-HF group. Limb blood flow responses did not differ between groups.

Conclusions:

• Body composition demonstrably alters thermal responses to post-exercise cold water immersion.
• Differences in body mass and fat percentage may contribute to the variability observed in individual CWI recovery outcomes.
• Further research is warranted to elucidate the precise mechanisms linking body composition to CWI efficacy.