03 Nov, 2008

Ask the Coach: Ice Baths

Question

I recently attended the Feile Na Gael competitions for 14 year olds and I witnessed the young players mimicking their idols of senior county teams jumping into green wheelie bins filled with ice and water for recovery. Is this a good method to aid the repair of tired muscles and something I should practice with my child?

Answer

What would I do for my county? Well the most idiotic thing you could do is jump or ask your child to jump into a green wheelie bin filled with ice. Ice, cold water or cryotherapy treatments were all the rage a few years ago but you never hear them mentioned ever since. The only thing it does is increase cortisol the stress hormone after training. Ice baths create stressors that eat muscle and develop a fight or flight response from your body that increases the heart rate shuts down the digestive system and releases adrenaline for the body is in fear of its safety. Therefore cortisol delays the body recovering. Cortisol has been referred to as the grinch of body-building as stress eats muscle and therefore inhibits the body’s recovery. Recent research by Hubbard, T.J. and Denegar, C.R. (2004) Journal of Athletic Training (2004) 39:3 278-279 show that it is not effective in reducing pain when compared with other rehabilitative techniques. Some things may sound good in a couple of initial studies, but they just don't stand the test of time.

The best form of recovery for the young athletes would be a post workout shake to replenish the nutrients in the body that have been used during their match. The body needs fuel to help it recover and not an ice bath in a wheelie ban. Ice baths and freezing have been used in torturing methods by vigilantes to retrieve information and it is not something that should be endorsed to children if you want them to continue their love for their sports.