Many Physiotherapists recommend the bath to Sportsmen and women to prevent muscle soreness after exercise and to to speed up recovery. They claim that the icy cold helps shift lactic acid. The theory is that the icy cold causes the blood vessels to tighten, and drains the blood along with waste products such as lactic acid out of the legs.

But on the contrary, a study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine now claims that the opposite may be true.

Ice baths have become a most fashionable way to recover after an intense game or race. Adherents of the therapy include Paula Radcliffe and the England rugby team.

Paula Radcliffe says when she emerges from the bath, her limbs fills up with fresh blood which invigorates the muscles with oxygen and helps the cells repair. Although physiotherapists who promote the bath have had little evidence to prove this.

Out of 40 exercising volunteers, those who took an icy plunge reported more pain after 24 hours than those who took a tepid bath, the Australian study found. “This study challenges the use of ice-water immersion in athletes,” the researchers write. “Ice-water immersion offers no benefit for pain, swelling, isometric strength and function, and in fact may make more athletes sore the next day.”