I feel the article is misleading. Ice Baths (cold water baths) have many applications to aid recovery depending on the situation.
The research mentioned does not detail the subject group, intensity work load (very hard to replicate the strains on the body of a game of football), protocols used (temp of water, duration) and details of the control group.
For example in a congested fixture list if you have 3 fixtures in a 7 day period ice baths will aid recovery so you can perform at your maximum or near to it in each game.
For example in extreme heat conditions ice baths are used to bring the core temperature back to normal quicker which aids the recovery process.
For example Ice baths can be used in conjunction with hot baths for contrast bathing which again has been shown to aid recovery.
For example pre cooling in an Ice Bath has been used to keep core temperature down to reduce the rise of core temperature on performance.
Previous research has shown the negative impact of ice baths on the training effect but this is with water temperatures below 8 degrees.
More recent modalities for hydrotherapy are for temperatures of 12-15 degrees celcius , so a better description may be cold baths as opposed to ice baths
I have known the majority of a squad use Ice Baths when they have been optional as they feel the benefits as they know what works for them and how their body recovers.
As like many training or recovery protocols if administered at the wrong time or protocol they can have a negative impact.
The research mentioned does not detail the subject group, intensity work load (very hard to replicate the strains on the body of a game of football), protocols used (temp of water, duration) and details of the control group.
For example in a congested fixture list if you have 3 fixtures in a 7 day period ice baths will aid recovery so you can perform at your maximum or near to it in each game.
For example in extreme heat conditions ice baths are used to bring the core temperature back to normal quicker which aids the recovery process.
For example Ice baths can be used in conjunction with hot baths for contrast bathing which again has been shown to aid recovery.
For example pre cooling in an Ice Bath has been used to keep core temperature down to reduce the rise of core temperature on performance.
Previous research has shown the negative impact of ice baths on the training effect but this is with water temperatures below 8 degrees.
More recent modalities for hydrotherapy are for temperatures of 12-15 degrees celcius , so a better description may be cold baths as opposed to ice baths
I have known the majority of a squad use Ice Baths when they have been optional as they feel the benefits as they know what works for them and how their body recovers.
As like many training or recovery protocols if administered at the wrong time or protocol they can have a negative impact.