Effects of cold water immersion following a Wushu training session on the metabolic and cellular damage indices of body

In recent years, various methods of cryotherapy have been used to reduce intensive exercise-induced injuries and inflammation for fast and complete recovery as well as exercise capacity elevation. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of cold water immersion (CWI) following a Wushu specific training session on the anabolic/catabolic indices and cellular damages.

Sixteen elite Wushu athletes from Kurdistan province (mean age: 19.17±2.80 years, weight: 77.37±8.30 kg, body fat: 10.25±30%) were selected as the subjects and performed a Wushu training session. During the recovery period, the subjects of the CWI group immersed in the cold water for 20 minutes, while control group rested passively in the same position. Blood samples were collected immediately before and after training and after recovery period. To analyze the data, analysis of variance with repeated measures and Bonferroni tests were applied at the significant level of p<0.05.

There were no significant changes in the level of Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) enzymes following a training session (p>0.05). The level of growth hormone, testosterone, and the testosterone/cortisol ratio increased significantly after training in both groups (p<0.05), while following the recovery period, testosterone level decreased only in the CWI group (p<0.05). Moreover, cortisol level decreased significantly after recovery period (p<0.05), but there was no significant difference between the two groups (p>0.05).

The levels of anabolic hormones (growth hormone and testosterone) reduced by ICW following a Wushu training session; and it seems that the use of this method can attenuate exercise-induced positive responses and it may have long-term negative effects on athlete’s performance.