Ice bath against sore muscles?

Can a cold treatment relieve muscle soreness?

02/16/2012

Muscle soreness is a phenomenon that almost every person has already suffered. A bath in cold water could possibly alleviate the symptoms, researchers from the Northern Irish University of Ulster report.

While it is now known that not so originally believed, the so-called lactate (lactic acid), but tiny injuries in the tissue, are responsible for the soreness, the best treatment methods remain unclear. Also, the Irish scientists around Chris Bleakley from the University of Ulster did not want to give a treatment recommendation, although they could find in their investigations a positive effect of cold treatments. The effect is not strong enough and other treatment methods too few researched to make a clear statement, the statement of the experts.

Cold bath with slight effect on sore muscles
The Northern Ireland University of Ulster research team has evaluated a total of 17 studies on cold treatment of muscle soreness (Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, online). The data of 366 subjects (mostly men) were taken into account. In the studies, after strenuous exercise such as cycling, jogging or various team sports, the subjects took a bath in five to 15 degrees cold water. Between three minutes and just under half an hour, the study participants stayed in the cold bath. After the bath, soreness was slightly lower than in the control group without cold treatment, report Chris Bleakley and colleagues. However, the difference between the two groups was so minimal that possibly a placebo effect could have caused them, the Irish researchers said. Also, it remains completely unclear, which water temperature and duration of bath work best, so the statement of Bleakly and colleagues.

Treatment methods for sore muscles too little researched
Furthermore, it is not clear from the available studies whether the cold treatment could possibly also have negative effects on the muscles or the rest of the organism, the Irish scientists criticized the validity of the investigations. In addition, many other treatment methods can not be tested to date due to the lack of scientifically reliable data. It could be so „Give better ways to reduce soreness“, such as „warm water or light jogging“, but the researchers have so far „not enough data to come to a recommendation“, emphasized study leader Chris Bleakly.

Massages can relieve sore muscles
It was not until the beginning of February that scientists from McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, in the journal „Science Translational Medicine“ reports that massages have a soothing effect on the typical muscle aches after exercise. Even with other muscle problems such as neck tension or back pain massages should have a positive effect. Probably work „a massage based on the same principle as a freely available painkiller“, Explained researchers Mark Tarnopolsky and Justin Crane of McMaster University in their article. But considering the number of participants of only eleven young men, the validity of this study is in question. However, the observed effect of the massages here was significantly higher than in the now examined cold treatment of muscle soreness. There are also numerous other studies on the analgesic effect of massages, the significance of which can certainly be questioned in detail, but in their sum speak for a clearly positive effect of the massages. In the cold baths, however, a comparable clear statement so far is not possible. (Fp)

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Picture: Tim Ruster