Warren Gregson, Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool L3 3AF UK.
Am J Sports Med. 2011 Jun;39(6):1316-23. doi: 10.1177/0363546510395497. Epub 2011 Feb 18.
Cold water immersion reduces exercise-induced muscle damage. Benefits may partly arise from a decline in limb blood flow; however, no study has comprehensively investigated the influence of different degrees of cooling undertaken via cold water immersion on limb blood flow responses.
To determine the influence of cold (8°C) and cool (22°C) water immersion on lower limb and cutaneous blood flow.
Controlled laboratory study.
Nine men were placed in a semireclined position and lowered into 8°C or 22°C water to the iliac crest for two 5-minute periods interspersed with 2 minutes of nonimmersion. Rectal and thigh skin temperature, deep and superficial muscle temperature, heart rate, mean arterial pressure, thigh cutaneous blood velocity (laser Doppler), and superficial femoral artery blood flow (duplex ultrasound) were measured during immersion and for 30 minutes after immersion. Indices of vascular conductance were calculated (flux and blood flow/mean arterial pressure).
Reductions in rectal temperature (8°C, 0.2° ± 0.1°C; 22°C, 0.1° ± 0.1°C) and thigh skin temperature (8°C, 6.2° ± 0.5°C; 22°C, 3.2° ± 0.2°C) were greater in 8°C water than in 22°C (P < .01). Femoral artery conductance was reduced to a similar extent immediately after immersion (30%) and 30 minutes after immersion (40%) under both conditions (P < .01). In contrast, there was less thigh cutaneous vasoconstriction during and after immersion in 8°C water compared with 22°C (P = .01).
These data suggest that immersion at both temperatures resulted in similar whole limb blood flow but, paradoxically, more blood was distributed to the skin in the colder water. This suggests that colder temperatures may be associated with reduced muscle blood flow, which could provide an explanation for the benefits of cold water immersion in alleviating exercise-induced muscle damage in sports and athletic contexts.
Colder water temperatures may be more effective in the treatment of exercise-induced muscle damage and injury rehabilitation because of greater reductions in muscle blood flow.
冷水浸泡可减少运动引起的肌肉损伤。其益处可能部分源于肢体血流量的下降；然而，尚无研究全面调查通过冷水浸泡达到不同冷却程度对肢体血流反应的影响。
确定冷水（8°C）和凉（22°C）水浸泡对下肢和皮肤血流的影响。
对照实验室研究。
9 名男性采用半卧位，将其大腿浸入 8°C 或 22°C 的水中至髂嵴，每浸入 5 分钟间歇 2 分钟不浸入。测量浸入期间和浸入后 30 分钟直肠和大腿皮肤温度、深部和浅部肌肉温度、心率、平均动脉压、大腿皮肤血流速度（激光多普勒）和股浅动脉血流（双功能超声）。计算血管传导指数（流量和血流/平均动脉压）。
直肠温度（8°C，0.2°C±0.1°C；22°C，0.1°C±0.1°C）和大腿皮肤温度（8°C，6.2°C±0.5°C；22°C，3.2°C±0.2°C）在 8°C 水中比在 22°C 水中下降更大（P<.01）。两种条件下，浸入后即刻（30%）和 30 分钟后（40%）股动脉传导均降低至相似程度（P<.01）。相反，8°C 水中大腿皮肤的血管收缩在浸入期间和之后均小于 22°C（P=.01）。
这些数据表明，两种温度下的浸入均导致整个肢体血流相似，但矛盾的是，在较冷的水中更多的血液分布到皮肤。这表明，更低的温度可能与肌肉血流减少有关，这可能为冷水浸泡在缓解运动引起的肌肉损伤方面在运动和运动背景下的益处提供了一种解释。
由于肌肉血流的减少，更冷的水温可能在治疗运动引起的肌肉损伤和损伤康复方面更有效。
