Cold Water Immersion or Foam Rolling? A Randomized Crossover Trial Comparing Recovery Effects on High-Intensity Performance and Markers of Muscle Damage and Inflammation in Soccer Players

Background: Recovery between repeated high-intensity efforts is essential to limit fatigue and performance decline in soccer. This study examined the effects of cold water immersion (CWI), foam rolling (FR), and passive recovery during a 15 min interval between two 5 m shuttle run tests (5mSRTs) on physical performance, perceptual responses, and biochemical markers of muscle damage and inflammation. Methods: Fifteen soccer players (age: 22.6 ± 2.03 years) completed passive recovery, FR, and lower-body CWI at 15 °C in a randomized crossover design. Creatine kinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), C-reactive protein (CRP), aspartate transaminase (AST), delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), and belief questionnaire scores were assessed before the first 5mSRT and immediately after, and then 24 h, 48 h, and 72 h after the second 5mSRT. Results: Between the first and the second 5mSRT, TD remained unchanged following CWI (p = 0.21), whereas significant decreases were observed following passive recovery (p = 0.025) and FR (p = 0.028). Also, BD decreased after passive recovery (p = 0.03). At 48 h, CWI elicited lower CK (p = 0.01) and LDH (p = 0.003) than passive recovery, whereas FR resulted in lower AST concentrations (p = 0.01). Participants reported higher belief scores following CWI and FR than passive recovery throughout the recovery period (p < 0.05). No between-condition differences were observed for FI, PD, RPE, DOMS, or CRP (all p > 0.05). Conclusions: CWI may help preserve repeated-running performance and attenuate selected markers of muscle damage following repeated high-intensity intermittent exercise in soccer players, whereas FR demonstrated only limited physiological effects.