Volunteers needed to see how cryotherapy can aid sport recovery and sleep

Northampton men are being asked to brave the cold one more time as part of research looking into how sub-zero temperatures can help recovery after taking part in sport.

Adnan Haq, a lecturer at Moulton College, has been conducting studies into how Whole Body Cryotherapy (WBC) treatment can help recovery after exercise.

WBC involves safe and brief exposure to extreme cold and some of the reported, beneficial effects include reduced pain/soreness and better recovery, mobility, well-being and sleep.

For his initial study, Adnan looked at how age and body fat content could impact on the effectiveness of WBC treatment on men’s recovery from exercise.

The results from that study showed that WBC could benefit the recovery of muscle strength –  following certain exercises – in younger men.

Adnan is now following up with further investigations into WBC, including its effects on people’s sleep. He is looking for similar volunteers –  local men over 18 years of age who are of a ‘reasonable’ fitness level and who can easily get to the University’s Waterside campus – to take part in the following:

• Study 2 – the format will be broadly similar to Adnan’s previous study, but will also look at volunteers’ sleep before and after cryotherapy using a Fitbit watch
• Study 3 – Adnan will look into the impact regular cryotherapy has on endurance and strength training.

Commenting on the research, Adnan said: “Firstly, I’d like to thank the original group of volunteers who stepped up to take part in the first piece of research.

“That study yielded some interesting results, but was only the start of wider-reaching research into how WBC can impact on sports recovery. One of my other objectives is to determine if cryotherapy treatment – and the timing of this – affects our sleep.

“Additionally, I am interested to see if numerous cryotherapy treatments can impact the potential gains from a structured training programme. This will require a group of participants who are perhaps keen to improve their fitness whilst experiencing a novel and expensive recovery tool on a regular basis.

“Given how exercising and getting a good night’s shut eye are so important to us all, I’m looking forward to welcoming more volunteers to help understand if and how WBC can help.”

For those who are interested in taking part – and for further details – can contact Adnan directly: 07791 545 203; adnan.haq@moulton.ac.uk