acook
Why Are We Still Ice Bathing?
The practice of ice bathing has been around for centuries, with people like Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius championing the idea of voluntary discomfort to build strength. Despite its enduring popularity, recent research suggests that ice bathing may actually hinder muscle recovery by suppressing important signaling pathways and inhibiting muscle growth. Athletes and exercisers continue to ice bathe partly due to the placebo effect, as the perception of reduced pain and enhanced recovery can be psychologically beneficial. However, there is a call for a shift towards evidence-based practices in sports science and a better dissemination of research findings to the public to ensure that health and wellness interventions are truly effective.
Ice bathing endures because the research is being lost in translation, i.e., whatever we’re doing in the lab isn’t making it to the layperson. Scientists and medics change their practice to align with published research and expert consensus—that’s the premise of science-based medicine. But athletes and coaches take a different approach; they prefer to acquire knowledge through personal interactions with their peers. This preference for peer advice over scientific consensus is something we’ve seen in nutrition research for decades, and it speaks to a broader distrust of scientific institutions, something Tom Nichols described as the death of expertise. (View Highlight)
Scientists are partly to blame. In our search for quantitative performance metrics, like citation number and H-Index, we’ve bought into a highly restrictive knowledge dissemination framework: we study esoteric subjects, write in stuffy and unrelatable prose, and sign over our findings to publishers who incarcerate our reports behind paywalls that only universities can afford to bypass. The system ensures that only the most sensational findings ever make it out of academia. And, in our reluctance to communicate with the public, we’ve created a gulf between the lab and the layperson, a void that’s being gleefully filled by fitness influencers and wellness gurus who ply their trade on unregulated social media platforms. (View Highlight)
Note: good point - related to my thoughts on teh scientific process - it's too quantitative and limited to metrics we can study and measure - like the quote if a measure becomes a target it's stops being a good measure
But if athletes and their teams collaborate with scientists and physicians—which most do—why then are the experts condoning these maligned practices? Simple: because placebos have powerful psychobiological effects. Placebo practices—interventions that work only in the context of expectation and belief—have become entrenched in sporting culture. Coaches and athletes willingly use placebos on the basis they’ll confer a psychological advantage. And professional teams use ice baths, cryotherapy chambers, and in-house chiropractors (not to mention physiotherapists who administer acupuncture and reiki) (View Highlight)
Note: this bothers me - if it works due to 'placebo' then it's working right - we just don't understand the mechanism
First, athletes, coaches, and their support staff need to reflect on the question of whether the benefit of a placebo effect outweighs the obvious physiological disadvantages of an intervention. (View Highlight)