Perceptual measures
Our results show that the cold-water immersion group reported less general fatigue and leg soreness over the tournament than the thermoneutral immersion group. These findings are in line with those of previous studies (Bailey et al., 2007; Halson et al., 2008). For example, Halson et al. (2008) reported lower ratings of general fatigue and leg soreness when cold-water immersion was implemented after a simulated 20-min cycling time-trial in endurancetrained
male cyclists. In the current study, the perception of leg soreness and general fatigue tended
to increase over successive matches in the cold-water immersion group until it reached the same value as that of the thermoneutral immersion group 22 h after the final match. These results suggest that compared with thermoneutral immersion, cold-water immersion might reduce the decrement in perceived recovery during a 4-day tournament where matches
are played on a daily basis.