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Randomized trial · measured the question itself

A 5-week trial in 21 cyclists found no clear power gain from cold water

Halson and colleagues · Medicine and science in sports and exercise · 2014

Original title: Does hydrotherapy help or hinder adaptation to training in competitive cyclists?

Under review. A person has not yet checked this summary against the paper. It is written from the PubMed abstract. Until a person checks it, search engines are asked not to list this page.

What the study found

No difference

Overall 4-minute power change was unclear (2.7% ± 5.7%). Sprint power was likely higher with cold water (4.4% ± 4.2%). The 10-minute time trial was unclear (-0.4% ± 4.3%).

The study at a glance

Type of study
Randomized trial
Who or what was studied
21 people · 34 male competitive cyclists randomized; 21 finished
What was tested
15 minutes in 15°C water four times a week during about 5 weeks of training, vs resting
What it measured
The question itself: muscle recovery, mood and immune health
How long
5 weeks
Who has a stake
No disclosure in PubMed
No disclosure in PubMed.
Journal
Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 2014
Source
PubMed record 24504431. This page is based on the abstract only.

How much this study counts

  • ✓Randomized: people were put into groups by chance, so the groups start out alike.
  • –Small: 21 people. Small trials can miss real effects or find chance ones.
  • –Short: 5 weeks. Longer-term effects are unknown.
  • ✓Measured the question itself: muscle recovery, mood and immune health.
  • •The PubMed record has no conflict-of-interest statement.
  • •Summarized from the PubMed abstract only. The full paper may hold details the abstract leaves out.

✓ Strength– Limit• Note

These points come from fixed rules about the type of study, its size and length, what it measured, and who has a stake. Every study on Digestery gets the same rules.

Where this study sits

Each dot is one on-topic paper on this question. Steps near the top answer the question more directly.

↑ Stronger evidence

  1. Trials in people: muscle recovery and mood

    8

    1 benefit, 1 mixed, 5 no difference, 1 harm

    ↑ This study is the ringed dot

  2. Trials in people: other measures

    8

    2 benefit, 1 mixed, 4 no difference, 1 harm

  3. Trials in people: lab tests or safety

    3

    1 benefit, 2 no difference

  4. Population studies

    3

    2 benefit, 1 mixed

  5. Blood levels and genes

    0

    None among the papers we read.

↓ Weaker evidence

  • Points to benefit
  • Mixed
  • No difference
  • No direction
  • Points to harm

How it fits with the other research

The short answer to “Does cold plunging help recovery and mood?”

Eases soreness a little; mood unproven.

Confidence: low. Based on 30 on-topic papers.

Read the full answer

Of the other 7 papers on the same step: 1 benefit, 1 mixed, 4 no difference, 1 harm. This one found no difference. It agrees with most of them.

Other papers on the same step

See all 30 studies on this question

How this page was made

Label

First read of the abstract
Claude Sonnet
Independent second read
Claude Haiku
Differences settled
The reviewer corrected 1 field after reading the abstract. Claude Opus 5.5.
Headline
Claude Sonnet, from the checked study record. A script checked its numbers and wording.
Numbers
Checked against the abstract by a script
“How much this study counts”
Fixed rules, the same for every study
Source check by a person
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