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Completed

NCT Number: NCT04902924

Cold and Warm Water for Performance Recovery

The overall aim of this study is, to evaluate the effectiveness of repeated cold- and warm water immersion on performance recovery after muscle damage.

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Key information

Conditions

Healthy

Age range

18 year–35 year

Sex eligibility

Female

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland

Landquart, Kanton Graubünden, 7302, Switzerland

About this study

Participants perform a muscle-damage protocol, which comprises 5x20 drop jumps. After the exercise protocol is finished, the participants will undergo one of three recovery interventions. Cold-water immersion, Warm-water immersion or the control-intervention. During the exercise protocol and the recovery intervention following parameters will be assessed: Blood oxygenation, Muscle oxygenation, heart-rate, skin temperature and core temperature.

Then, performance recovery will be assessed during the following 72 hrs (in a 24 hrs interval).

At each time-point, following measurements will be conducted: vertical-jump performance, maximum voluntary isometric contraction of the m.quadriceps femoris muscle, muscle swelling and delayed-onset of muscle soreness.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Healthy participants
  • No surgeries
  • No previous injuries
  • Anticonceptiva allowed

Exclusion criteria

  • Acute injuries or current pain situations
  • Cryophobia
  • Fear
  • Pregnancy
  • Raynaud syndrome
  • Medication intake

Treatment and study plan

repeated cold water therapy

Behavioral

This information can be found the description of the experimental arm.

repeated warm water therapy

Behavioral

This information can be found the description of the experimental arm.

Control

Other

This information can be found the description of the experimental arm.

Primary outcomes

  1. Maximum Voluntary Isometric Contraction (N)

    Time frame: baseline to 72 hours

    maximun voluntary isometric contraction of the knee extensor muscle will be assessed.

  2. Delayed Onset of Muscle Soreness (DOMS)

    Time frame: baseline to 72 hours

    delayed onset of muscle soreness will be measured using a 0-10 scale, where 0 indicated no soreness and 10 indicates maximum soreness of the knee extensor muscles

  3. Muscle Swelling

    Time frame: baseline to 72 hours

    swelling of the knee extensor muscle will be performed using a ultrasound device.

  4. Creatine-kinase (U/l)

    Time frame: baseline to 72 hours

    using a blood sample (6 ml), creatine-kinase will be assessed

  5. Muscle Blood Oxygenation

    Time frame: through recovery intervention up to 30 minutes

    Muscle oxygenation saturation (SmO2) of the knee extensor muscle will be measured using near-infrared spectroscopy device. Oxygenated haemoglobin (oxyHb), deoxygenated haemoglobin (deoxyHb) and total haemoglobin (TotHb) were assessed in arbitrary units and SmO2 was calculated as oxyHb/TotHb x 100 value (%)

  6. Skin Temperature (°C)

    Time frame: through recovery intervention up to 30 minutes

    Skin temperature will be measured using a near infrared thermography camera

  7. Core Temperature (°C)

    Time frame: through recovery intervention up to 30 minutes

    core temperature will be measured using temperature pill that will provide real time values from the gastrointestinal region

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland

Other

Registry information

Official study title

A Randomized Controlled Trial to Evaluate the Effectiveness of Repeated Cold- and Warm Water Immersion on Performance Recovery

Important dates

Study start
2021
Primary completion
2022
Study completion
2022
First posted
May 26, 2021
Registry last updated
Oct 7, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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