Abstract
Cold water immersion (CWI) is used as a simple tool to decrease muscle fatigue and to improve recovery after physical effort. Scientific evidence show, however, controversial results of CWI in recovery.
The aim of this review is to assess effect of CWI on recovery and physical performance. There are several variables influencing recovery speed during CWI such as water temperature, time of immersion, character of immersion (local, whole- body; continuous, intermittent).
Moreover, intensity and time of physical effort with the character of effort (continuous, intermittent) play significant role. Research shows that CWI has positive impact on muscle pain perception.
Furthermore, faster recovery is documented between exercises to exhaustion with high acidosis (graded exercise to exhaustion, intermittent isometric contraction to exhaustion). However, physiological mechanisms are not yet fully understood.