Over the past few years, a lot of emphasis has been placed not only on enhanced performance but recovery. Adequate recovery from workouts and athletic competitions allow you to perform at a higher level — and can help you reduce soreness and risk of injury. Ice baths are a popular method to enhance recovery. But, the research is unclear if it is beneficial in all circumstances.

Proposed Benefits

It is thought that sitting for 10 to 20 minutes in an ice bath will reduce inflammation in your muscles. Blood flow is constricted and lactic acid is flushed from the muscles, reducing soreness and improving recovery. It is also believed that muscle tissue breakdown is reduced. You can treat a large area of your body, or muscle groups, rather than using an ice pack to treat small areas one at a time.

What the Research is Saying

While athletes have been using ice baths for years as part of their recovery, there are not that many studies that look at their effectiveness in humans. One study that does take an in-depth look at humans, had just nine participants. So, the sample size is small. However, here is what the researchers found. Nine physically active men were asked to perform lower body resistance exercises for 45 minutes. They then were asked to either spend time in an ice bath (one week) or do a 10-minute cool-down on a bike (another week). The researchers took muscle biopsies from the participants to look at what was happening in the tissue after each method.

Their takeaway was that ice baths do not enhance recovery after resistance training, but may, in fact, inhibit improvements in strength and muscle mass. Taking the time to cool down slowly seemed to be more effective for building muscle and strength. However, they concede that ice baths may be beneficial for athletes that have little time between bouts of competition.

What To Do

Since the research is still so limited, it's hard to know what is appropriate for you. It appears it depends on what your workout is that day, and what your goals are. If you are performing resistance exercise and looking to build muscle, avoid the ice bath. If you are doing endurance exercise, give it a shot. See how you feel, and keep an eye out for continued research.

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