From The Lab: Ice Vs Hot Baths

Harrison Armitage
Oct 15
3 min read

For years, ice baths have been sold as the gold standard of recovery, I myself have utilised them extensively for my weary knees, but a new 2025 study from European researchers might just have dunked that idea in cold water.

The Study

Researchers from Sweden and Lithuania (Gustafsson et al., 2025) followed 40 national-level youth footballers through simulated matches to test how three recovery methods stacked up:

Cold-water immersion (CWI) in 10 °C water for 10 mim
Hot-water immersion (HWI) in 38 °C water for10 min
Placebo which was a a fake “laser recovery” session

They measured everything that matters: sprint speed, jump height, leg strength, and endurance, immediately after, then 21 hours and 45 hours later.

They also tracked a smaller group over 15 weeks to see if any of these recovery methods affected training adaptations or body composition.

The Results

Here’s the kicker:

Cold, hot, or placebo → recovery looked almost identical across all groups.
Performance bounced back at the same rate, muscle damage markers followed the same pattern, and long-term progress was unaffected.
Even after 15 weeks of repeated use, neither cold nor hot water gave athletes any measurable edge in strength, power, or endurance.

In short: doing nothing “special” worked just as well as the fancy recovery hacks.

(European Journal of Applied Physiology, 2025)

But How Does This Fit In With Other Research

This actually isn’t the first time ice baths have been questioned.

A 2025 meta-analysis (Wang et al., Frontiers in Physiology) showed that cold-water immersion helps a little with soreness and blood markers of muscle damage, but results depend on temperature and timing, around 10–15 minutes at 10 °C seems optimal.

Another review (Sports Medicine Open, 2025) found that heat and cold therapy can both support recovery, but poor timing (e.g. too soon after a workout) can actually blunt adaptation, especially in strength and hypertrophy training.

Some older studies suggest repeated cold exposure after lifting can reduce long-term muscle growth, possibly by dampening the inflammation that’s part of the muscle-building process.

So, the pattern is clear: the recovery effect is often small, inconsistent, and maybe more psychological than physiological.

What This Means

These findings pain me, as I’ve gotten great use out of cold exposure. Honeslty, if you swear by it too, keep it. The placebo effect is still an effect regardless of the science, if it helps you feel fresher, that’s worth something.

But:

✅ You’re not missing out if you skip it.

✅ Consistency and sleep will still trump any water temperature.

✅ Belief matters; recovery is as mental as it is physical.

✅ Use heat or cold intentionally, not out of habit. I.e.:

Try cold when soreness is limiting performance or suffering from inflamation.

Try heat when stiffness or circulation is the issue.

The Takeaway

The 2025 study’s main message?

Recovery isn’t in the bath, it’s in balance.

Sleep, nutrition, and balanced training recovery habits still outperform the latest “hack.” The best recovery tool might still be the simplest one: doing nothing.

References

Gustafsson, T., Montiel-Rojas, D., Romare, C., Johansson, F., Folkesson, M., Pernigoni, M., Frolova, O., Brazaitis, M., Venckūnas, T., Ponsot, E., Chaillou, T., & Edholm, P. (2025). Cold- and hot-water immersion are not more effective than placebo for the recovery of physical performance and training adaptations in national-level soccer players. European Journal of Applied Physiology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-025-05835-w
Wang, H., et al. (2025). Impact of different doses of cold-water immersion on recovery after exercise-induced muscle damage: A network meta-analysis. Frontiers in Physiology.https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physiology/articles/10.3389/fphys.2025.1525726/full
Sports Medicine Open (2025). Thermal recovery methods: benefits and risks in strength and endurance recovery.