Recovery after a cycling tour: What really helps with muscle soreness

When it comes to optimal recovery after intensive training sessions or competitions, opinions often clash: Whilst some swear by the idea that ‘heat helps – so off to the sauna’, others believe that ‘cold reduces the inflammatory response – so an ice bath or ice packs on the legs’. We’ll take a look at what the science actually says about these and other recovery strategies.

Intense or unfamiliar physical exertion during (endurance) training can lead to minor damage to the muscles. This results in micro-inflammatory processes in the affected muscle areas – better known as muscle soreness. This is not only often painful but, depending on its intensity, may also necessitate a prolonged reduction in training or a break from training altogether.

The effects of cold water

Traditional ice-water baths or long cold showers after exercise alleviate the symptoms and subjectively give the impression of a quicker recovery. This usually makes it possible to resume training more quickly. However, you should always bear in mind that health conditions such as vascular diseases may preclude the use of both cold and heat treatments. If in doubt, you should seek medical advice beforehand. It is also important to note, particularly in the context of training, that prolonged exposure to cold suppresses the natural inflammatory response following intensive training. This can impair the muscles’ long-term adaptation to training.

It is therefore always a question of weighing up the benefits (a quicker start to training) against the costs (a possible loss of adaptive mechanisms). The scientific evidence for heat applications or heat therapies, such as sauna sessions or heat packs after training, is significantly more limited than that for cold applications.

Little evidence of positive effects from heat

The common belief regarding the beneficial effects of taking a sauna after exercise is that it promotes relaxation, increases blood flow to the muscles and also aids recovery from injuries. However, due to the high temperatures, sauna sessions can also place additional stress and strain on the body. Acute heat treatments do not appear to offer any demonstrable benefit in terms of accelerating recovery.

On the other hand, regular sauna sessions can, under certain conditions, improve your endurance performance during training or competitions in warm weather.

This is what standard regeneration methods achieve

• Cold water bath/ice water: Well-documented short-term pain relief; a good subjective sense of recovery; suitable, for example, when facing multiple exertions in quick succession (several competitions or stages); however, it may inhibit the body’s adaptive mechanisms.
• Ice pack: It is a suitable alternative when a full bath in ice-cold water is not feasible, but it does not have a systemic effect on the whole body.
• Heat (sauna, hot bath): It has not been documented as being particularly effective in the short term; however, in the long term, for training phases aimed at adaptation, it can feel quite strenuous.
• A rollercoaster ride: It is suitable for general recovery days at short notice, although it is time-consuming and its effects on the body are unclear.

Most importantly: sleep and rest

1. Sleep quality and duration: clearly supported by the best available research; it facilitates physical recovery and forms the basis for the recovery of the entire system – hormonally, cognitively and also immunologically
2. Post-workout nutrition: essential for energy balance and muscle repair
3. Cold therapy: suitable for pain relief; primarily promotes subjective recovery
4. Contrast baths: At any rate, there are indications here of an accelerated biochemical recovery
5. Active recovery (low-intensity exercise): promotes metabolic adaptation after exercise
6. Compression clothing: A number of positive effects have been documented in studies
7. Heat (sauna, etc.): The evidence is rather weak; physiological adaptations have been documented, but it is not particularly suitable for acute recovery
8. Massages: merely a subjectively positive effect; studies show no measurable effect on recovery.

Conclusion

The evidence is inconclusive when it comes to treating muscle soreness. Cooling may be most likely to provide immediate relief, whilst in the long term, the regular use of heat – for example, through sauna sessions – could have positive effects. However, as always, the basic requirements remain a sensibly structured training plan with a balanced ratio of training and recovery phases, sufficient and good-quality sleep, and a healthy, balanced diet. These factors have by far the strongest evidence for rapid recovery and good health.

So far, so simple. And, as is generally the case in endurance sports, active exercise is always better than passive measures.

Scientific adviser: Dr Daniel A Bizjak