Content updated to June 23, 2026
Cryotherapy has become well-established as one of the most widely used methods in professional football to optimize recovery processes, particularly when post-exercise muscle damage is high. However, for coaching and medical staffs to individualize its application, having objective tools to monitor the athlete's physiological response is key.
To address this, Lubkowska et al. (2023) investigated the effects of whole-body cryostimulation (WBC) on the skin temperature of football players and how these thermal data correlate with analytical fatigue markers.
According to current scientific consensus on periodized recovery (such as those developed from Thorpe, 2021), cooling or heating protocols should not be applied generically; instead, they must respond to specific criteria based on the type of fatigue generated (metabolic, neuromuscular, or structural damage). While the study analyzed the effect of a cryotherapy protocol following actual match play, it is worth noting as a methodological window of improvement that the absence of a control group limits the ability to contrast whether subjects not exposed to the cold would have exhibited different recovery kinetics.
The research evaluated 14 football players after a competitive match in which they played an average of 73.84 minutes. Prior to entering the cryotherapy protocol, a baseline superficial skin thermal recording and a serological analysis were performed. The procedure consisted of a 3-minute exposure to -140°C inside a portable cryotherapy cabin for all players.
Figure 1. Example of evaluation before and after a cryotherapy protocol analyzed with thermography.
Immediately following the session, the players' thermal data were captured again. On the other hand, the serological follow-up was not performed immediately; rather, it was scheduled at 24, 48, and 72 hours post-intervention to evaluate the mid-term evolution of blood biomarkers.
The results of the cryotherapy exposure showed a symmetrical reduction in skin temperature across all regions exposed to the protocol. Furthermore, the authors noted clear differences based on proximity to the body core: temperature decreased less in central regions (such as the chest: Delta= -7,35±2,22ºC; -7,38±1,95ºC) and dropped more drastically in distal regions such as the arms (Delta= -7,35±2,22ºC; -7,38±1,95ºC)) and legs (Delta= -10,14±1,74ºC; -9,96±1,49ºC).
A highly valuable finding for technical and medical staffs was how these thermal data cross-referenced with the players' anthropometric and individual variables:
Figure 2. Serum biomarkers related to fatigue post cryotherapy protocol.
Lastly, serological concentrations of Creatine Kinase (CK), Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH), and Aspartate Transaminase (AST)—indicators typically linked to muscle damage and structural fatigue—were significantly elevated 24 hours after the match, but returned to their baseline values 72 hours after the cryotherapy protocol.
A cryotherapy protocol that generates a controlled cutaneous thermal drop contributes to the normalization of blood variables related to muscle damage within 72 hours post-effort. Nonetheless, the response to cold is highly individual, and factors such as body composition directly modify the peripheral thermal behavior of each athlete.
It is fundamental to emphasize that infrared thermography is not a medical diagnostic tool nor does it replace the clinical judgment of healthcare professionals. Its true value lies in being a complementary support element for strength and conditioning coaches, rehabilitation specialists, and medical services.
By integrating holistically with other assessment systems (such as blood analysis, external load data via GPS, or wellness questionnaires), thermography allows for the objectification of the athlete's thermal symmetry. In post-competition processes (MD+1 and MD+2), ensuring that the thermal stimulus is symmetrical and balanced between both limbs is a key performance indicator (KPI) to verify that the assimilation of recovery strategies progresses homogeneously.
ThermoHuman has had the support of the Funds of the European Union and the Community of Madrid through the Operational Programme on Youth Employment. Likewise, ThermoHuman within the framework of the Export Initiation Program of ICEX NEXT, had the support of ICEX and the co-financing of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
Thermohuman has received funding from the Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI), in participation with the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), for the R+D activities involved in creating a new tool, based on thermography, for the prediction and prevention of rheumatoid arthritis. See project detail.
