Ice-ing on the cake: Ice baths for a quick recovery

Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo regularly immerses himself in a tub of ice, sometimes as late as 3 am, says his former manager Carlo Ancelotti.
Ronaldo is so dedicated to his ice baths that he would even keep his then girlfriend, Irina Shayk, waiting.

The Indian cricket team’s former fitness trainer Ramji Srinivasan says: “The ice bath is thought to constrict blood vessels, flush waste products and reduce swelling and tissue breakdown.” However, it is not for everyone.

“The only ice I like is the ice I put in my drinks,” is the cheeky response of former Australian speedster Brett Lee. “I’m not too fond of ice baths. There are conflicting opinions about it. I only took an ice bath when I absolutely had to. Otherwise, I let my intense workouts work their magic.”

Lee is not alone in thinking this way. Ramji, who also personally oversaw Sachin Tendulkar’s tennis elbow rehabilitation programme in 2005, said the Master Blaster wasn’t too fond of sitting in the ice tub either.

“Sachin was very choosy when it came to recovery processes. He used ice baths only when he felt that his body really required it. On the other hand, the likes of Rahul Dravid and Zaheer Khan would spend more than the time prescribed,” Ramji said, adding that during his six-season stint with the Mumbai Indians, he had seen a lot of players take midnight ice baths.

In a recent research conducted in the US, a group of scientists have strongly recommended ice baths, but another argued that it could possibly lead to a medical condition of nerve conduction.

That does not deter Delhi Daredevils wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik, however. “It’s the best way to rejuvenate your body after a hard day’s work. As the IPL matches get over around midnight, generally players go back to their hotel rooms and put ice cubes in the bathtub and cool down,” he says

R. Sridhar, team India fielding coach, agrees. “Taking an ice bath is excellent for instant recovery from fatigue after an intense match or training session. A cold bath in water between 2ºC and 8ºC, which regulates blood flow, is commonly followed by sports teams across the world and is a proven practice.”

Ramji, however, says, “If the temperature is too low, that is below -5ºC, it could cause frostbite. Some players have a strong threshold for ice and some don’t.”

‘Fastest way to recover’
I use ice baths extensively. I try to stay in ice water to my neck for almost 10 minutes. That is one of the fastest ways to recover during matches. The other way is three minutes hot water, three minutes cold water, at least three cycles.
Achanta Sharath Kamal, Table tennis player

‘Muscles get new life’
It is the best thing for injured muscles. The muscles get new life after this therapy. Not only during tournaments but after my trainings, I sometimes do it to relax my body and muscles.
I go for the cold-hot therapy, where I stay in a hot tub (for three minutes) and then in ice water (for two minutes) and repeat the process twice. Whenever I play the Japan Tour, I do it every week. It’s a very common therapy in Japan. In 2008, when I won the JT Cup in the tour, I did the therapy everyday. Thanks to its quick recovery process, I played every day fresh.
Jeev Milkha Singh, Golfer

‘A Brilliant recovery’
I think it is a brilliant recovery for any athlete. Whatever you do to your body is paramount to what happens on the pitch. It is great for cooling and fitness and everything one does to keep the body in check.
That’s why it’s so good. Physically, we need to be in great condition and ice bath recovery definitely helps.
Sam Billings, Delhi Daredevils cricket player

— With inputs from Harpreet Kaur Lamba and C. Santhosh Kumar