Postexercise Impact of Ice-Cold Water Bath on the Oxidant-Antioxidant Balance in Healthy Men

Abstract

The aim of the study was to determine the effect of a 5 min head-out ice-cold water bath on the oxidant-antioxidant balance in response to exercise. The crossover study included the subjects (n = 24; aged 28.7 ± 7.3 years) who performed two identical stationary cycling bouts for 30 min and recovered for 10 min at room temperature (RT = 20°C; session 1) or in a pool with ice-cold water (ICW = 3°C, 5 min immersion; session 2). The concentration of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) in blood plasma (TBARSpl) and erythrocytes (TBARSer) and the erythrocytic activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) were measured three times during each of the two study sessions: before the exercise (baseline) and 20 and 40 min after the appropriate recovery session. Lower concentration of TBARSpl 40 min after postexercise recovery in ICW was revealed as compared with that after recovery at RT (P < 0.05). Moreover, a statistically significant postexercise increase in the TBARSpl and TBARSer concentrations was found (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05, resp.). A short-term ice-cold water bath decreases postexercise lipid peroxidation.

Cold Water Immersion and Inflammatory Response After Resistance Exercises

“…2,22 Cell signaling occurs through the redox state and during intense exercise can result in damage to cell constituents. 4,5,6,25 The present study showed that CWI reduced lipid damage at 120 min after RE. To our knowledge, this is the first meta-analysis 21 showing that CWI using recommended parameters (11-15ºC and 11-15 min) reduced damage caused by transient oxidative stress in untrained volunteers following RE sessions.…”

“…CWI (3ºC for 5 min) applied after an exercise session using a cycle ergometer reduced lipoperoxidation and damage caused by redox imbalance. 4 A study on volleyball players exposed to cold air (-130 ºC for 2 min) before submaximal exercise using a cycle ergometer corroborated this result, as shown by improved enzymatic antioxidant capacity and reduced inflammatory markers. 5 Semi-professional mixed martial arts athletes who underwent CWI (10ºC for 15 min) had reduced oxidative damage.…”

“…1 REs acutely generate mechanical and/or metabolic stress that may vary according to training variables and may result in muscle damage, depending on intensity. 2 Oxidation/reduction imbalance 3 occurs during and after REs in high-intensity sessions because the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) exceeds enzymatic (superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase) and nonenzymatic (vitamins A, C , and E, and uric acid) antioxidant capacity, resulting in oxidation of cellular constituents 4,5,6 and an inflammatory response. 3,7 These alterations are clinically characterized by delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS), which results in reduced contractility 8 and muscular functionality.…”

Influence of Prior Intense Exercise and Cold Water Immersion in Recovery for Performance and Physiological Response during Subsequent Exercise

“…Cold water immersion (CWI) has been shown to reduce markers of ROS following exercise (Sutkowy et al, 2015 ) and muscle swelling (Yanagisawa et al, 2003 ). Numerous studies have deployed CWI to facilitate recovery from exercise with the main outcome being unchanged or improved performance with the proposed mechanism being reduced inflammation (Versey et al, 2013 ; White and Wells, 2013 ), however a contributing placebo effect may also be present (Broatch et al, 2014 ).…”

The use of thermal imaging to monitoring skin temperature during cryotherapy: A systematic review

“…There is no consensus on the effectiveness of these methods, continuing with ambiguous protocols, without optimal application times (Crystal et al, 2013;Hardaker et al, 2007;Mila-Kierzenkowska et al, 2012;Selfe et al, 2006;Sutkowy et al, 2015).…”