Why do football players wade in freezing cold sea water the day after their football matches?

They normally also take ice baths after a match- it slows any injuries they may have. Rul will know moew

Rul will know moew

you been on the donuts again?

D A thanks, but I would have thought you would need to do this immeadiately after the match, not the next day?

Touch typing fail.

the rich clubs have their own indoor heated swimming pools, the poor clubs go down to the beach.

bob(from black rock) said:

D A thanks, but I would have thought you would need to do this immeadiately after the match, not the next day?

It hurts more the next day so you can really feel the weakness leaving the body.

My trainer has ice baths after a marathon or a long run and has suggested it to me on several occasions…. I laughed at her, I won’t even get into a pool unless it’s 100% humidity..

It helps the muscles for soreness and relieves inflammation after a hard workout, I believe :)

My understanding is that the trip to the beach is a ‘recovery’ session, as others have suggested, and certainly the cold of the water can have some anti-inflam effects, but I’m not sure it’s comparable to the ice bath, nor used for the same reason.

For starters, AFL footy is a running game. The average of all positions is 13km/game, with rovers running up to 21km/game. Unlike normal running, however, AFL is spectacularly hard work for the legs because of the rapid changes in direction, ‘stops’ on the boots that minimise slip on the ground and the constant accelerating and braking. One of the main advantages of visiting the beach is the deep soft sand next to it, which is much more pleasant to run on for fatigued and lightly injured leg muscles and joints.

Walking and running in the water also provides light resistance to movement without the need for the legs to bear the weight of the body. The combination of cold and movement will also help flush the muscles with lots of fresh blood.

Team training practices are rarely entirely physiological, however, and a group training session the day after a game can be an opportunity to quickly resolve any issues from the game, could be a way to keep the players away from the after-match piss-up, gives the coaching staff a chance to investigate any new injuries, and gives the nutrition staff control over the breakfast / brunch post-match meal.

I’m not sure the science is solid enough yet, but the practice is. If it didn’t work, they wouldn’t do it.