Perception of Cold Water Immersion among Elite Athlete’s

Noorah Alshoweir, Peter Goodwin, Jamie McFee, Gill Yeowell

2014

Abstract

Background Delayed onset muscle soreness is a common symptom after over-load training. It typically begins 12-24 hours post exercise and lasts up to 72 hours, resulting in muscle pain and reduced function. Cold-water immersion (CWI) has emerged as an effective method of recovery, reducing pain and enhancing function. However, limited literature exists regarding the psychology of its perceived effectiveness. Therefore, athletes’ pain, perceptions of performance and expectations post-CWI were investigated. Methods Eight male rugby players participated in a 2 weeks cross-over trial comprising of 15 minutes of CWI (12-13ºC) vs passive recovery after 20 minute step-up exercises. Three questionnaires were selfcompleted, two investigating the experience of CWI and perceived performance, immediately post CWI and the third investigating expectations, 48 hours later. A focus group was held 48-hour post-CWI. Results were analyzed using a mixed methods approach. Results All players found this CWI protocol acceptable. For most in this cohort, there was a perception that CWI would enhance performance and expect it to reduce pain more than passive recovery. The focus group confirmed the questionnaire findings. Conclusion Player perceptions of CWI might have a significant psychological impact on recovery outcomes.

References

  1. Cook, C.J., Beaven, C.M. (2012), Individual perception of recovery is related to subsequent sprint performance. British journal of sports medicine; 47, 705-709.
  2. Crowe, M.J., O'Connor, D., and Rudd, D. (2007), Cold Water Recovery Reduces Anaerobic Performance. International Journal of Sports Medicine; 28: 994- 998.
  3. Ingram, J., Dawson, B., Goodman, C., Wallman, K. and Beilby, J. 2009. Effect of water immersion methods on post-exercise recovery from simulated team sport exercise. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 12, 417-421.
  4. Wilcock, I., Cronin, J. and Hing, W. (2006) Physiological response to water immersion, A method for sport recovery? Sports Medicine, 36(9), 747-765.
Download


Paper Citation


in Harvard Style

Alshoweir N., Goodwin P., McFee J. and Yeowell G. (2014). Perception of Cold Water Immersion among Elite Athlete’s . In - icSPORTS, ISBN , pages 0-0


in Bibtex Style

@conference{icsports14,
author={Noorah Alshoweir and Peter Goodwin and Jamie McFee and Gill Yeowell},
title={Perception of Cold Water Immersion among Elite Athlete’s},
booktitle={ - icSPORTS,},
year={2014},
pages={},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={},
isbn={},
}


in EndNote Style

TY - CONF
JO - - icSPORTS,
TI - Perception of Cold Water Immersion among Elite Athlete’s
SN -
AU - Alshoweir N.
AU - Goodwin P.
AU - McFee J.
AU - Yeowell G.
PY - 2014
SP - 0
EP - 0
DO -