Effects of whole body cryotherapy and cold water immersion on recovery after high-intensi̇ty interval loading

The aim of the study is to compare the acute effects of whole body cryotherapy, cold water immersion and passive rest, which are recovery methods applied after high-intensity interval loading, on blood lactate level, muscle/tendon stiffness and heart rate change in trained individuals. The participants of the study consist of 16 volunteer male athletes between the ages of 19-32, who study at Akdeniz University School of Physical Education and Sports and do sports and/or training at least three days a week. The average age of the participants was 22.2 ±3.3 years, the average height was 176.4 ±6.4 cm, the average body fat percentage was 17.1 ±5.1%, and the average body weight was 74.2 ±8.6 kg. . Participants were divided into 3 groups of 6 people each using a randomization program. On the pre-measurement day, participants were brought to the laboratory to measure body composition, maximum oxygen consumption (VO2max), heart rate per minute, blood lactate, muscle and tendon elasticity, tone and stiffness. Seven days after the preliminary measurement, the participants were brought back to the measurement center to perform the loading and recovery sessions. Participants' blood lactate and muscle tendon elasticity, tone and stiffness were measured before and 3 minutes after the end of the load. Heart rate was monitored throughout exercise and measured again after recovery practice. Immediately after the recovery exercises and 10 minutes later, blood lactate, heart rate, and muscle tendon elasticity, tone and stiffness measurements were taken and noted. In the study, version 2.3.28.0 of the Jamovi statistical program was used to analyze the data. The suitability of the data for normal distribution was evaluated by examining Skewness, Kurtosis and Q-Q Plots values and using the Shapiro-Wilk test. Whether there were differences between groups in muscle/tendon stiffness, blood lactate levels and heart rate values obtained with different recovery states was analyzed by ANOVA test in repeated measurements. The confidence interval was accepted as p<0.05. The results of the study showed that whole body cryotherapy and cold water immersion applied after high-intensity interval loading did not create a significant difference in muscle/tendon stiffness, heart rate and blood lactate levels compared to the control group (P ≥0.05). These findings indicate that cold applications such as cryotherapy and cold water immersion have similar effects to passive rest and do not provide an additional advantage in recovery processes. Keywords: Whole Body Cryotherapy, Cold water immersion, Recovery.