ArticleEuropean journal of applied physiology2019
Whole body cryotherapy, cold water immersion, or a placebo following resistance exercise: a case of mind over matter?
Article in European journal of applied physiology, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
27 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 51 citations in OpenAlex.
- Impact of different doses of cold water immersion (duration and temperature variations) on recovery from acute exercise-induced muscle damage: a network meta-analysis.Frontiers in physiology · 2025Pooled it
- The effects of hydrotherapy and cryotherapy on recovery from acute post-exercise induced muscle damage-a network meta-analysis.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2024Pooled it
- Effects of Cold-Water Immersion Compared with Other Recovery Modalities on Athletic Performance Following Acute Strenuous Exercise in Physically Active Participants: A Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis, and Meta-Regression.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2023Pooled it
- Cold- and hot-water immersion are not more effective than placebo for the recovery of physical performance and training adaptations in national level soccer players.European journal of applied physiology · 2025Trial
- The effectiveness of cryostimulation exposure on sleep and recovery in male athletes: Timing considerations.European journal of sport science · 2024Trial
- Acute effects of leg heat therapy on walking performance and cardiovascular and inflammatory responses to exercise in patients with peripheral artery disease.Physiological reports · 2021Trial
- Multiple Cryotherapy Attenuates Oxi-Inflammatory Response Following Skeletal Muscle Injury.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Trial
- Partial-body cryotherapy (-135°C) and cold-water immersion (10°C) after muscle damage in females.Scandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports · 2020Trial
- Cold water immersion protocol optimization across exercise modalities: a systematic review and network meta-analysis of resistance training, endurance exercise, and team sport applications.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2026Article
- Impact of different cryotherapy interventions on post-exercise acute delayed-onset muscle soreness, athletic performance, and inflammatory biomarkers: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2026Review
- The Power of Belief: Investigating the Placebo Effect in Post-Exercise Recovery Strategies for Football Players.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Muscle regeneration is improved by hot water immersion but unchanged by cold following a simulated musculoskeletal injury in humans.The Journal of physiology · 2025Article
- Thermal Modalities Including Hot Baths and Cold Plunges Play a Unique Role in Injury Prevention and Recovery.Arthroscopy, sports medicine, and rehabilitation · 2025Article
- Whole Body Cryostimulation: A New Adjuvant Treatment in Central Sensitization Syndromes? An Expert Opinion.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Cold-water immersion and whole-body cryotherapy attenuate muscle soreness during 3 days of match-like tennis protocol.European journal of applied physiology · 2023Article
- Effects of treatment dosage of whole-body cryotherapy upon post-match recovery of endocrine and biochemical markers in elite rugby league players: An experimental study.Health science reports · 2023Article
- Cold water immersion after a soccer match: Does the placebo effect occur?Frontiers in physiology · 2023Article
- Browning of the white adipose tissue regulation: new insights into nutritional and metabolic relevance in health and diseases.Nutrition & metabolism · 2022Review
- Functional Impact of Post-exercise Cooling and Heating on Recovery and Training Adaptations: Application to Resistance, Endurance, and Sprint Exercise.Sports medicine - open · 2022Review
- Effect of cold and heat therapies on pain relief in patients with delayed onset muscle soreness: A network meta-analysis.Journal of rehabilitation medicine · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeThe use of cryotherapy as a recovery intervention is prevalent amongst athletes. Performance of high volume, heavy load resistance exercise is known to result in disturbances of muscle function, perceptual responses and blood borne parameters. Therefore, this study investigated the influence of cold water immersion (CWI), whole body cryotherapy (WBC) or a placebo (PL) intervention on markers of recovery following an acute resistance training session.
methods24 resistance trained males were matched into a CWI (10 min at 10 °C), WBC (3- and 4 min at - 85 °C) or PL group before completing a lower body resistance training session. Perceptions of soreness and training stress, markers of muscle function, inflammation and efflux of intracellular proteins were assessed before, and up to 72 h post exercise.
resultsThe training session resulted in increased soreness, disturbances of muscle function, and increased inflammation and efflux of intracellular proteins. Although WBC attenuated soreness at 24 h, and positively influenced peak force at 48 h compared to CWI and PL, many of the remaining outcomes were trivial, unclear or favoured the PL condition. With the exception of CRP at 24 h, neither cryotherapy intervention attenuated the inflammatory response compared to PL.
conclusionThere was some evidence to suggest that WBC is more effective than CWI at attenuating select perceptual and functional responses following resistance training. However, neither cryotherapy intervention was more effective than the placebo treatment at accelerating recovery. The implications of these findings should be carefully considered by individuals employing cryotherapy as a recovery strategy following heavy load resistance training.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.