A 2.5 min cold water immersion improves prolonged intermittent sprint performance

Area of Science:

• Sports Science
• Exercise Physiology
• Thermoregulation

Background:

• Team sports involve repeated high-intensity sprints interspersed with recovery periods.
• Maintaining exercise performance during prolonged intermittent exercise is crucial for athletes.
• Core body temperature increases during exercise, potentially impairing performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effect of cold water immersion (CWI) on exercise performance during a simulated team-sport intermittent sprint test (IST).
• To determine if CWI can mitigate performance decrements in the latter stages of prolonged exercise.

Main Methods:

• A randomized crossover design was employed with ten male team-sport players.
• Participants completed three IST protocols, each separated by a 15-minute recovery period.
• Recovery conditions included passive rest, 5-minute CWI at 8°C (CWI-5), and 2.5-minute CWI at 8°C (CWI-2.5).

Main Results:

• No significant differences in performance, core temperature, or heart rate were observed in the first half across conditions.
• Passive rest led to significant reductions in total work and peak power in the second half compared to the first.
• Both CWI-5 and CWI-2.5 prevented significant performance declines in the second half, with lower core temperatures observed for up to 20 minutes into the second half.

Conclusions:

• A short duration (2.5-5 minutes) of post-exercise cold water immersion effectively attenuates performance reductions in prolonged intermittent sprint exercise.
• CWI appears to enhance exercise performance by reducing core body temperature and associated heat storage during recovery.
• These findings suggest CWI is a viable strategy for team-sport athletes to maintain performance during demanding competition.