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PurposeThis study aimed to investigate the effect of whole-body cryotherapy (WBC), cold-water immersion (CWI) and passive recovery (PAS) on tennis recovery.MethodsThirteen competitive male tennis players completed three consecutive match-like tennis protocols, followed by recovery (WBC, CWI, PAS) in a crossover design. Five tennis drills and serves were performed using a ball machine to standardize the fatiguing protocol. Maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) peak torque, creatine kinase activity (CK), muscle soreness, ball accuracy and velocity together with voluntary activation, low- and high-frequency torque and EMG activity were recorded before each protocol and 24 h following the third protocol.ResultsMVC peak torque (− 7.7 ± 11.3%; p = 0.001) and the high- to low-frequency torque ratio (− 10.0 ± 25.8%; p < 0.05) decreased on Day 1 but returned to baseline on Day 2, Day 3 and Day 4 (p = 0.052, all p > 0.06). The CK activity slightly increased from 161.0 ± 100.2 to 226.0 ± 106.7 UA L−1 on Day 1 (p = 0.001) and stayed at this level (p = 0.016) across days with no differences between recovery interventions. Muscle soreness increased across days with PAS recovery (p = 0.005), while no main effect of time was neither observed with WBC nor CWI (all p > 0.292). The technical performance was maintained across protocols with WBC and PAS, while it increased for CWI on Day 3 vs Day 1 (p = 0.017).ConclusionOur 1.5-h tennis protocol led to mild muscle damage, though neither the neuromuscular function nor the tennis performance was altered due to accumulated workload induced by consecutive tennis protocols. The muscle soreness resulting from tennis protocols was similarly alleviated by both CWI and WBC.Trial registrationIRB No. 2017-A02255-48, 12/05/2017.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of regular post-exercise whole-body cryotherapy (WBC) on physiological and performance adaptations to high-intensity interval training (HIT). In a two-group parallel design, twenty-two well-trained males performed four weeks of cycling HIT, with each session immediately followed by 3 min of WBC (−110 °C) or a passive control (CON). To assess the effects of WBC on the adaptive response to HIT, participants performed the following cycling tests before and after the training period; a graded exercise test (GXT), a time-to-exhaustion test (T max ), a 20-km time trial (20 TT ), and a 120-min submaximal test (SM 120 ). Blood samples were taken before and after training to measure changes in basal adrenal hormones (adrenaline, noradrenaline, and cortisol). Sleep patterns were also assessed during training via wrist actigraphy. As compared with CON, the administration of WBC after each training session during four weeks of HIT had no effect on peak oxygen uptake ( V ̇ O 2peak ) and peak aerobic power (P peak ) achieved during the GXT, T max duration and work performed (W Tmax ), 20 TT performance, substrate oxidation during the SM 120 , basal adrenaline/noradrenaline/cortisol concentrations, or sleep patterns ( P  > 0.05). These findings suggest that regular post-exercise WBC is not an effective strategy to augment training-induced aerobic adaptations to four weeks of HIT.