Comparison of the Effectiveness of Intermittent Pneumatic Compression, Cold Water Immersion, and a Passive Protocol in the Recovery of Muscle Damage Induced by Plyometric Exercise

Introduction: Muscle fatigue is recognized as one of the causes of injury in sports. Recovery methods are frequently used by sports teams. However, research into the effectiveness of such methods remains limited. Methods: Eleven recreational athletes participated. The study lasted four weeks; the first was dedicated to familiarization, and the last three weeks were to follow-up. Volunteers performed bout of 100 drop jumps, followed by intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC), cold water immersion (CWI), or passive recovery; each method performed in a different week. Variables included were triple horizontal jump (THJ), serum creatine kinase (CK), and muscle soreness; and were registered before, 24, 48, and 72 hours after exercise. Results: Although muscle soreness normalized after 48 hours with the IPC (p = 0.18), it remained altered after 72 hours with the CWI and passive recovery (p = 0.01 and p = 0.01, respectively). With regards to the CK, normalization was observed within 48 hours of CWI (p = 0.31), while the IPC and passive resulted in normalization after 72 hours (p = 0.14 and p = 0.22, respectively). In relation to the THJ, normalization was observed within 48 hours of CWI (p = 0.25), 72 hours after the passive method (p = 0.21), and showed late reduction with IPC, after 72 hours (p = 0.01). Conclusion: objective variables demonstrated better results with the use of CWI.