17/10/2024
It’s commonly claimed that cold therapy improves muscle recovery. This claim however is false, unfortunately it actually delays recovery.
For skeletal muscle tissue to rebuild and recover, the inflammatory response is necessary. Inflammation promotes healing of damaged (micro level) soft tissues. Cold therapy reduces inflammation and thus can delay the recovery process.
Cold therapy is however preferentially used when inflammation has become excessive. This will generally be after an injury or some form of strenuous activity. It does however have other benefits that aren’t relevant to this topic.
