Hot Water vs. Cold Water Immersion. Which Is Better For Muscle Soreness?

Video Transcript:

Hot verus cold water immersion….Ever wonder which one is better for muscle soreness and recovery? That’s the topic of our simply good brain bomb for today.

So a recent study from medicine and science in sports and exercise just came where researchers compared how hot water and cold water baths affect muscle recovery right after a tough workout.

They had 30 active men do an intense exercise designed to cause muscle soreness and damage. Then, they split them into three groups: a cold water bath at 52 degrees, a hot water bath at 106 degrees, and a lukewarm bath at 97 degrees that served as the control group.

They measured several things before the exercise, 24 hours later, and 48 hours later including how strong the leg muscles were, how quickly the muscles could generate force, how sore the muscles felt, and the electrical activity in the muscles

Here’s what they found:

For strength recovery both cold and hot water groups regained their strength after 48 hours. The lukewarm group didn't fully recover.

For quick force generation only the hot water group fully recovered this ability after 48 hours.

For muscle soreness the hot water group felt less sore after 48 hours. The other groups were still sore.

For muscle electrical activity the cold water group showed some changes in muscle electrical patterns. The other groups didn't show significant changes.

So what’s the take home point? Hot water baths might be better for overall recovery, especially for reducing soreness and helping muscles work normally again due to increased vasodilation/blood flow to the damaged muscle via.

Cold water baths also helped with strength recovery but didn't reduce soreness as much.