Effect of contrast water therapy on blood lactate concentration after high-intensity interval training in elite futsal players

Introduction In the process of improving an athlete’s performance, the recovery methods must be optimized. Recovery is required to maximize training and competition performance; fatigue should be minimized by recovering as fast as possible. This study aimed to assess effects of contrast water therapy on blood lactate concentration after high-intensity interval training (HIIT) in elite futsal players. Methods A total of 30 male futsal athletes volunteered to be subjects in this study. The test session consisted of repeated sprints at the distance of 25 m (3 series of two 1-min repetitions at 90% of maximum heart rate). After HIIT, the participants were randomized into 2 groups; 15 received contrast water therapy (CWT), and 15 were given slow jogging recovery (SJR). The recovery for the CWT group consisted of periodic immersions in cold water (18°C) for 1 min and then in hot water (37°C) for 2 min, with accumulating 15 min in the water. The recovery for the SJR group included 8 min of slow jogging (6.8 km · h−1) around a field. Results After 30-min recovery, lactate concentration was significantly greater (p = 0.001) in the SJR group (7.67 mmol/l) than in the CWT group (6.82 mmol/l) and remained significantly different 60 min after recovery (p = 0.0001; 6.80 mmol/l and 5.01 mmol/l, respectively). Conclusions We demonstrated that CWT after HIIT had an effect on the recovery of elite futsal players by decreasing the lactate concentration and rapid recovery of heart rate.