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Pooled review (meta-analysis)

Pooled review of 20 studies: cold water eased soreness, but not inflammation markers

Xiao and colleagues · Frontiers in physiology · 2023

Original title: Effects of cold water immersion after exercise on fatigue recovery and exercise performance--meta analysis.

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

Mixed

Cold water lowered muscle soreness and effort ratings right after exercise. Jump height was lower at 0 h. Creatine kinase was lower at 24 h. No change in C-reactive protein or IL-6 over 48 h.

The study at a glance

Type of study
Pooled review (meta-analysis)
Who or what was studied
20 studies · people doing high-intensity exercise, in 20 studies
What was tested
Cold water immersion after exercise compared with no cold water
What it measured
Several kinds of outcomes
Who has a stake
No stake declared
No competing interests declared.
Journal
Frontiers in physiology, 2023
Source
PubMed record 36744038. This page is based on the abstract only.

How much this study counts

  • ✓Pools the results of 20 studies.
  • •A pooled review is only as strong as the studies it pools.
  • •Measured several kinds of outcomes.
  • ✓No competing interests declared.
  • •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

This paper is not on the ladder. It is a pooled review (meta-analysis), and reviews and opinion pieces discuss studies that are already counted on the steps below.

↑ Stronger evidence

  1. Trials in people: muscle recovery and mood

    8

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

  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

Other reviews on this question

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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