Do We Need a Cool-Down After Exercise? A Narrative Review of the Psychophysiological Effects and the Effects on Performance, Injuries and the Long-Term Adaptive Response

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It is widely believed that an active cool-down is more effective for promoting post-exercise recovery than a passive cool-down involving no activity. However, research on this topic has never been synthesized and it therefore remains largely unknown whether this belief is correct. This review compares the effects of various types of active cool-downs with passive cool-downs on sports performance, injuries, long-term adaptive responses, and psychophysiological markers of post-exercise recovery. An active cool-down is largely ineffective with respect to enhancing same-day and next-day(s) sports performance, but some beneficial effects on next-day(s) performance have been reported. Active cool-downs do not appear to prevent injuries, and preliminary evidence suggests that performing an active cool-down on a regular basis does not attenuate the long-term adaptive response. Active cool-downs accelerate recovery of lactate in blood, but not necessarily in muscle tissue. Performing active cool-downs may partially prevent immune system depression and promote faster recovery of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. However, it is unknown whether this reduces the likelihood of post-exercise illnesses, syncope, and cardiovascular complications. Most evidence indicates that active cool-downs do not significantly reduce muscle soreness, or improve the recovery of indirect markers of muscle damage, neuromuscular contractile properties, musculotendinous stiffness, range of motion, systemic hormonal concentrations, or measures of psychological recovery. It can also interfere with muscle glycogen resynthesis. In summary, based on the empirical evidence currently available, active cool-downs are largely ineffective for improving most psychophysiological markers of post-exercise recovery, but may nevertheless offer some benefits compared with a passive cool-down.

It is widely assumed that promoting physiological and psychological recovery after exercise allows individuals to perform better during subsequent training sessions or competition, and lowers the risk of injuries. Various recovery interventions are therefore used to facilitate recovery after exercise. The best known and most widely used post-exercise recovery intervention is (arguably) the active cool-down, which is also known as an active recovery or warm-down. Several surveys show that many team sport players and athletes participating in individual sports regularly perform 5–15 min of low- to moderate-intensity exercises within approximately 1 h after their practice and competition to facilitate recovery [1–8]. For example, a recent survey among collegiate athletic trainers in the USA found that 89% of the trainers recommended a cool-down, with 53% of these trainers recommending jogging as the preferred active cool-down method [1]. There is currently no formal definition of an active cool-down; here, we define it as an activity that involves voluntary, low- to moderate-intensity exercise or movement performed within 1 h after training and competition. Examples of active cool-down interventions and their suggested effects are shown in Fig. 1. The effects of recovery interventions such as cold-water immersion [9, 10], compression garments [11, 12], and cryotherapy [13, 14] have been reviewed extensively. By contrast, the active cool-down has never been thoroughly reviewed. It remains largely unknown whether an active cool-down offers any benefits compared with a passive cool-down (i.e., no cool-down), and thus whether it is an appropriate or effective recovery intervention.

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