The Impact of Hot v. Cold Water Immersion on Post-Exercise Recovery

Abstract

Muscle recovery following exercise-induced soreness has been the focus of extensive research and debate, with Cold Water Immersion (CWI) and Hot Water Immersion (HWI) emerging as two of the most widely used modalities. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of CWI and HWI on muscle recovery by determining changes in maximal force production of knee extension, range of motion (ROM) of the hip joint in flexion, extension, and abduction, and subjective muscle soreness using a validated Likert scale. Seven male recreational athletes participated in hot and cold-water immersion, and passive recovery. Despite thorough data collection, the results revealed no statistically significant differences between the three recovery methods. Due to limitations such as small sample size and inconsistent participant understanding of testing instructions, findings were inconclusive. These results emphasize the need for further research involving larger, well-controlled participant groups to more clearly determine the effectiveness of hot versus cold water immersion in reducing delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS)