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Ice bath
Therapeutic body immersion in iced water / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In sports therapy, an ice bath, or sometimes cold-water immersion or cold therapy, is a training regimen usually following a period of intense exercise[1][2] in which a substantial part of a human body is immersed in a bath of ice or ice-water for a limited duration.[3]
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The method is controversial,[4] with a risk of hypothermia,[5] with the possibility of shock[6] leading to sudden death.[5][7][8] Many athletes have used cold water immersion after an intense exercise workout in the belief that it speeds up bodily recovery; however, the internal physical processes are not well understood and remain elusive.[9] Evidence supporting cold water immersion as part of an athletic training has been mixed,[10] with some studies suggesting a mild benefit such as reducing muscle damage and discomfort[11] and alleviating delayed onset muscle soreness,[12][13][14] with other studies suggesting that cold water immersion may slow muscle growth and interfere with an overall training regimen.[15][16][17]