The use of methods other than passive recovery for improving recovery after intense training and competitions in sports is growing. In particular, in rugby, the use of cold water, possibly associated with active recovery (cycling), and the use of cold and hot water immersion are quite popular. In our experience, the perception of muscle soreness after heavy exercise in top-level rugby players decreases when cold-water immersion of legs is performed during recovery period, as also quantified by a semiquantitative scale.¹

Gill and coworkers described the effectiveness of contrast water therapy (CWT) for improving the post-match recovery in elite rugby players.²

CWT was performed by immersion of the body to …