Recovery following a marathon: a comparison of cold water immersion, whole body cryotherapy and a placebo control.
Level 2 - randomized trial
Individual randomized controlled trial with three parallel groups including a placebo control.
PubMed 29127510 · doi:10.1007/s00421-017-3757-z
What was done
Thirty-one endurance-trained males completed a marathon and were randomly assigned to one of three post-exercise recovery conditions: whole body cryotherapy (WBC), cold water immersion (CWI), or a placebo control. Perceived muscle soreness, training stress, and markers of muscle function were evaluated before the marathon and at 24 and 48 hours post-exercise. Blood samples were collected at baseline, post-intervention, and at 24 and 48 hours post-intervention to assess markers of systemic inflammation and structural muscle damage.
What was found
The abstract reports directional findings without numerical values, effect sizes, or confidence intervals. WBC had a harmful effect on muscle function compared to CWI post-marathon, but positively influenced perceptions of training stress compared to CWI. With the exception of C-reactive protein (CRP) at 24 and 48 hours, neither cryotherapy intervention positively influenced blood-borne markers of inflammation or muscle damage compared to placebo. Overall, cryotherapy was no more effective than placebo for functional recovery or training stress perceptions.
Why it matters
This study demonstrates that neither whole-body cryotherapy nor cold water immersion improves post-marathon recovery over a placebo control, indicating that commonly reported benefits may largely stem from placebo effects and participant expectations.
Limits
The abstract provides no raw numbers, baseline values, or statistical effect estimates. The sample size was small (31 participants across three arms), and the study included only trained male runners, limiting generalizability to female athletes, non-endurance sports, or untrained populations.
Cited by
- supports Cold water immersion is more effective for reducing muscle soreness than whole-body cryotherapy or cold showers.