INDIVIDUAL RESPONSES TO COLD WATER IMMERSION ON
HANDGRIP PERFORMANCE
Jiří Baláš (1), Jan Kodejška(1), Jan Gajdošík(1), David Giles(2)1 Faculty of Physical Education and Sport, Charles University, Prague, Czech
Republic2 College of Health and Social Care, University of Derby, UK
Background
• Active recovery and cold water immersion (CWI) have been found to
be beneficial for recovery following repeated sport climbing
performances (Baláš, Chovan, & Martin, 2010; Draper et al. 2006;
Heyman, De Geus, Mertens, & Meeusen, 2009).
• CWI increased subsequent handgrip performance, further, a CWI
protocol using 15°C water temperature was found superior to 8°C
(Kodejška, Baláš, & Draper, 2018). However, this study showed large
individual variation in handgrip performance
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Effects of Four Recovery Methods on Repeated Maximal Rock Climbing Performance (Heyman et al., 2009)
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Test no
Active recovery CWIContrast water Passive recovery
Effect of hydrotherapy, active and passive recovery on repeated maximal climbing performance (Baláš, Chovan,Martin, 2010)
Effect of cold water immersion on handgrip performance in rock climbers (Kodejška, Baláš, Draper, 2018)
38% 27%32% -8%
Effect of cold water immersion on handgrip performance in rock climbers (Kodejška, Baláš, Draper,2018)
Aim
•To investigate the individual effect of 15°C CWI on repeated forearm contractions.
Methods
•Participants• Twenty-nine sport climbers (15 males: age 30.1 ± 7.3
yrs; body mass 71.0 ± 9.3 kg; height 178.3 ± 9.7 cm; 14 females: age 25.5 ± 3.7 yrs; body mass 56.9 ± 5.5 kg; height 166.1 ± 5.6 cm) • The ability of climbers ranged from 11 to 24 according
IRCRA (from 6a to 8a+ French grade)
Methods Handgrip intermittentcontractions• 8s contraction - 2s recovery.• Open grip position, 2.3 cm deep
rung• If the applied force was 10%
below the target force for more than 1s, the trial was terminated.
NIRS• Oxymon (Artinis Medical
System, BV, The Netherlands)• 1/3 FDP
Methods
•CWI 15° C - 20 min three 6 min cycles (4 min immersion, 2 min out of water) and 2 min for preparation
Methods
• Body fat (%)• Forearm circumference (cm)• Cold perception (ordinal 7
points scale)• Re-oxygenation (delta TSI relief
%)• De-oxygenation (delta TSI
contraction %)• TSI min (%)• Sex
Females (N=14) Males (N=15)
MeanStd.
DeviationMean
Std. Deviation
Body fat (%) 16.4 3.5 7.7 2.1Forearm circumference (cm) 24.2 1.3 28.1 2.1Fmax (N) 385.6 70.7 571.3 85.4Climbing ability (IRCRA) 15.3 3.2 17.9 4.1∆TSI contraction 2nd test (%) 8.7 2.3 9.0 2.2
∆ TSI relief 2nd test (%) 8.6 2.3 8.6 2.0TSI min 2nd test (%) 25.0 7.5 29.6 9.9∆TSI contraction 3rd test (%) 8.2 2.2 9.5 2.3
∆ TSI relief 3rd test (%) 7.9 2.2 9.2 2.5TSI min 3rd test (%) 22.3 5.6 26.1 7.6
Females Males
∆ FTI 1st -2nd test ∆ FTI 2nd - 3rd test ∆ FTI 1st -2nd test ∆ FTI 2nd - 3rd test
FTI 1st test (Ns) 0.001 -0.206 0.855** 0.712**
Body fat (%) 0.302 0.308 -0.337 -0.258
Fmax (N) -0.192 -0.161 0.129 -0.002
Climbing ability (IRCRA scale) 0.175 0.120 0.566* 0.437
Forearm circumference (cm) 0.221 0.154 0.068 0.034
Cold perception after 1st recovery -0.328 0.217
∆TSI contraction 2nd test (%) 0.123 -0.241
∆ TSI relief 2nd test (%) 0.066 0.011
TSI min 2nd test (%) 0.005 0.272
Cold perception 2nd recovery -0.263 0.277
∆TSI contraction 3rd test (%) 0.201 -0.023
∆TSI relief 3rd test (%) 0.165 0.231
TSI min 3rd test (%) 0.433 0.321
Results
Intermittent handgrip test no.
Discussion• Previous research has suggested that optimization of
submaximal isometric contractions occurs with a muscle temperature of 27°-28°C (Clarke, Hellon, & Lind, 1958; Edwards et al., 1972; Wakabayashi, Oksa, & Tipton, 2015). • SKIN x MUSCLE TEMPERATURE• Forearm circumference, body fat, cold adaptation,….
• AEROBIC x ANAEROBIC METABOLIC PATHWAYS• Aerobic metabolism did not seem to be affected• Greater FTI and increase in subsequent performance might be
connected with greater type II MU recruitments and more effective anaerobic pathways
Conclusions
15°C CWI has potential benefits as a recovery strategy for rock climbers and precooling may optimize climbing performance. However, individual application has to be taken in consideration as several mechanisms influence the effect of CWI on muscle performance.