Post‐exercise cold water immersion attenuates acute anabolic signalling and long‐term adaptations in muscle to strength training

Abstract

Key pointsr Cold water immersion is a popular strategy to recover from exercise. However, whether regular cold water immersion influences muscle adaptations to strength training is not well understood.r We compared the effects of cold water immersion and active recovery on changes in muscle mass and strength after 12 weeks of strength training. We also examined the effects of these two treatments on hypertrophy signalling pathways and satellite cell activity in skeletal muscle after acute strength exercise.r Cold water immersion attenuated long term gains in muscle mass and strength. It also blunted the activation of key proteins and satellite cells in skeletal muscle up to 2 days after strength exercise.r Individuals who use strength training to improve athletic performance, recover from injury or maintain their health should therefore reconsider whether to use cold water immersion as an adjuvant to their training.Abstract We investigated functional, morphological and molecular adaptations to strength training exercise and cold water immersion (CWI) through two separate studies. In one study, 21 physically active men strength trained for 12 weeks (2 days per week), with either 10 min of CWI or active recovery (ACT) after each training session. Strength and muscle mass increased more in the ACT group than in the CWI group (P < 0.05). Isokinetic work (19%), type II muscle fibre cross-sectional area (17%) and the number of myonuclei per fibre (26%) increased in the ACT group (all P < 0.05), but not the CWI group. In another study, nine active men performed a bout of single-leg strength exercises on separate days, followed by CWI or ACT. Muscle biopsies were collected before and 2, 24 and 48 h after exercise. The number of satellite cells expressing neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) (10−30%) and paired box protein (Pax7) (20−50%) increased 24-48 h after exercise with ACT. The number of NCAM + satellite cells increased 48 h after exercise with CWI. NCAM + -and Pax7 + -positive satellite cell numbers were greater after ACT than after CWI (P < 0.05). Phosphorylation of p70S6 kinase Thr421/Ser424 increased after exercise in both conditions but was greater after ACT (P < 0.05). These data suggest that CWI attenuates the acute changes in satellite cell numbers and activity of kinases that regulate muscle hypertrophy, which Abbreviations DAPI, 4 ,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole; ERK, extracellular regulated kinase; GAPDH, glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase; MRI, magnetic resonance imaging; mTOR, mammalian target of rapamycin; NCAM, neural cell adhesion molecule; Pax7, paired box protein 7; p70S6K, p70S6 kinase; RFD, rate of force development; RIPA, radioimmunoprecipitation assay; RM, repetition maximum; rpS6, ribosomal protein S6; Ser, serine; Thr, threonine; Tyr, tyrosine; 4E-BP1, (eukaryotic translation initiation factor) 4E-binding protein1.

Cold-Water Immersion and Contrast Water Therapy: No Improvement of Short-Term Recovery After Resistance Training

“…Interestingly, Roberts and colleagues 30 recently assessed both the short-term anabolic signalling and long-term adaptations in muscle to strength training with CWI or an active recovery. It was reported that CWI blunted the activation of key proteins and satellite cells (which regulate hypertrophy) in skeletal muscle up to two days after strength exercise, and also attenuated long-term gains in muscle mass and strength compared to an active recovery.…”

Efeito Da Imersão Em Água Fria Sobre a Recuperação Pós-Esforço Em Atletas De Jiu-Jitsu

“…Semelhante à outras intervenções, [23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30] o presente estudo também verificou que a IAF não influenciou nenhum parâmetro estudado (CQ, KGST e parâmetros isocinéticos). Allan e Mawhinney 28 descreveram que embora a IAF seja muito utilizada no meio esportivo com a premissa de favorecer a recuperação do atleta, essa alternativa ainda carece de comprovação científica.…”

Cooling down the use of cryotherapy for post-exercise skeletal muscle recovery

“…However, recent evidence has shown that acute 10 min of cold water immersion immediately following one resistance exercise session did not have any antiinflammatory benefits for skeletal muscle over the following 48 h post-exercise recovery period [4]. In the longer term, another study showed that 10 min of cold water immersion immediately following every resistance exercise session that was performed twice per week for 12 weeks resulted in diminished gains in muscle strength and muscle hypertrophy [5]. Thus, recent evidence is accumulating against the use of skeletal muscle cryotherapy as a post-exercise recovery intervention.…”