Basic recovery aids: what's the evidence?

Curr Sports Med Rep. 2015 May-Jun;14(3):227-34. doi: 10.1249/JSR.0000000000000159.

¹ 1University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa, IA; 2Department of Pediatrics, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa, IA; 3Institute for Orthopaedics, Sports Medicine, and Rehabilitation, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa; 4Department of Family Medicine, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa, IA; 5Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa, IA; 6Department of Health and Human Physiology, University of Iowa, Iowa, IA; and 7Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa, IA.

Abstract

This review summarizes the evidence base for using compression, massage, caloric replacement, cold, and heat as exercise recovery aids in sport.