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The Effect of Cold Water Immersion on Recovery and Performance in NCAA Division I Athletes

NCT06565468 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 75

Last updated 2026-01-15

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

In this study, the investigators will examine the effect of cold-water immersion (CWI) on objective and subjective recovery metrics, as well as simple performance metrics, in National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Division I Men's and Women's Volleyball players, Men's Football players, and Men's and Women's Cross Country runners. This is a cohort cross-over study that will take place over the course of four weeks during an intensive training cycle. Participants will wear a WHOOP monitoring device on their wrists at all times during the study period. The two-week intervention will consist of ten minutes of CWI to take place within one hour of the completion of the last training session of the day. The target water temperature will be 55 degrees Fahrenheit, and each participant will complete five sessions of CWI per week (for a total of ten sessions over the two-week intervention phase). Objective recovery measures will include heart rate variability, resting heart rate, total sleep time, slow wave sleep time, sleep consistency, blood oxygenation, and nocturnal skin temperature, all of which will be collected continuously by the WHOOP monitoring device. Subjective recovery measures will include three surveys to be completed daily, including the Likert Scale of Muscle Soreness, the Total Quality Recovery Scale, and the Single-Item Sleep Questionnaire. Performance measures will include a counter-movement jump to be completed two times per week, an isometric mid-thigh pull to be completed once per week, and a drop jump to be completed once per week. These outcome measures will similarly be collected during the two-week control period, during which participants will not have access to CWI following training sessions.

Conditions

  • Recovery, Physiological
  • Athletic Performance

Interventions

DEVICE

Cold water immersion pool.

Participants will complete a session of cold-water immersion within one hour of finishing the last training session of the day. Cold water immersion will consist of ten minutes of submersion to the neck in a cold-water tub with a target temperature of 55 degrees Fahrenheit (daily temperatures will be recorded at the time of each session). The acceptable range for the cold water immersion protocol will be from 53-57 degrees Fahrenheit. The immersion process will not be completed if the temperature of the water is outside of this range. Participants will complete five sessions per week, with a total of 10 sessions to be completed over the 14-day intervention.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
NONE
Model
CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2024-09-15
Primary Completion
2025-06-30
Completion
2025-06-30
FDA Device
Yes

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

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Entities

Companies

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT06565468 on ClinicalTrials.gov