INTRODUCTION: Recovery in competitive team sport such as football is important. Cold Water Immersion (CWI) and Hot Water Immersion (HWI) have become a common practice based on the assumption that they can restore physical performance. While the use of CWI in football is well studied, there are fewer studies on HWI, or studies comparing HWI and CWI. Furthermore, it is important to account for the potential placebo effect in the design of studies assessing recovery. In this study, we investigated the effect of CWI and HWI after a simulated football match (SFM) on the recovery of physical performance in male elite youth football players. METHODS: Forty male elite youth football players (15-19 years) were included in this study. They were randomized to either CWI (10°C, 10 min), HWI (42°C, 20 min) (immersion up to iliac crest), or placebo (PLA, 6 min, sham laser). The recovery modality was applied 1 h after a 90-min SFM (modified Copenhagen Soccer Test). Physical performance was assessed using the following tests: 20m sprint, submaximal Yoyo Intermittent Recovery Test 1 (until 4 min, i.e. stage 14.1), counter movement jump (CMJ), knee extension maximum isometric voluntary contraction (MIVC), time to exhaustion at 60% of MIVC and MIVC following time to exhaustion. All tests were performed at baseline, immediately after, as well as 21 and 45 h after the SFM. RESULTS: During the SFM, no significant differences for distance covered, heart rate (HR), rating of perceived exertion (RPE) and blood lactate concentration [lactate] were observed between the three groups. Sprint performance, HR, RPE and [lactate] during the submaximal Yoyo test, as well as CMJ height were affected by time (p<0.05), but not by recovery modality. MIVC force was reduced by ~8% after the SFM vs baseline in the three groups (p<0.05). At 21 and 45 h after the SFM, MIVC was no longer significantly reduced in CWI (91.7 ± 11.9 and 94.1 ± 9.8% of baseline, respectively) and HWI (96.8 ± 8.9 and 93.8 ± 9.2% of baseline, respectively), while it remained decreased in PLA (88.2 ± 6.5 and 90.8 ± 9.4% of baseline, respectively, p<0.05). However, no recovery modality effect was observed for MIVC. Time to exhaustion was reduced by ~30% immediately and 21 h after the SFM in all three groups vs baseline (p<0.01). At 45 h after the SFM, time to exhaustion remained reduced in PLA (73.0 ± 19.6% of baseline, p<0.01) and HWI (85.7 ± 19.4% of baseline, p<0.05) but not in CWI (96.3 ± 28.4% of baseline, p=0.95). For time to exhaustion, a main effect of recovery modality was detected (p<0.05), but no specific differences between groups were detected. MIVC following time to exhaustion was neither affected by time nor by recovery modality. CONCLUSION: CWI and HWI did not improve recovery of sprint, submaximal running as well as jumping performance during a 2-day recovery period following a SFM, while these modalities may positively affect recovery of strength during this period. CWI may also have a beneficial effect on fatigue resistance after 45 h.
© Copyright 2022 27th Annual Congress of the European College of Sport Science (ECSS), Sevilla, 30. Aug - 2. Sep 2022. Published by Faculty of Sport Science - Universidad Pablo de Olavide. All rights reserved.