Olympic field hockey players and footballers use cooling bath for quicker recovery

In preparation for the Olympic Games, the Dutch men’s and women’s field hockey teams and the Dutch under-21 men’s football team are using a new cooling system after training events and friendly games. DSM and the Dutch Olympic Committee (NOC*NSF) took the initiative for the development of this system in order to enable the team athletes to recover more quickly after an intensive training session or competitive event. During the Beijing Olympics, the teams will be using the specially developed cooling system, consisting of a cooling bath with special cooling units, after every game. 

In view of the climate conditions in China, DSM as innovation partner of NOC*NSF has developed various cooling products, including the previously presented cooling vest for individual athletes. More than 100 Dutch athletes will be using this vest for comfort cooling before and between the various events. Now the Dutch team athletes will in addition have the benefit of a specially developed after-cooling product. In the run-up to the Games, both the men’s and women’s field hockey teams and the footballers have started using this special cooling bath. The after-cooling project is an initiative of NOC*NSF and innovation partner DSM. For the execution of the project they have set up a collaboration with Innovacent, InnoSportNL, and the Dutch Institute of Applied Research (TNO).

Improved cooling technology
Until recently, cooling baths were created by allowing ice to melt in a tub of water. In such baths, the temperature of the water (and hence the desired effect) varied. Moreover, it took a lot of time to cool a water-filled bath to the desired temperature using this method. The newly developed cooling bath that is being made available to the Dutch teams specially for the Olympics is based on the use of special cooling units that are capable of cooling 800-900 liters of water to a constant temperature of 10°C within two hours. This is sufficient for a bath accommodating 8 people. The organizations that took the initiative for the development of this bath have thus set the standard for a new form of team cooling.

The cooling units are mobile. The idea is to place them in the dressing rooms of training centers and stadiums (now in the Netherlands and later at the Games in China) together with the bath that is filled with water. There will also be a cooling bath for general use at the Olympic village.

Effect of after-cooling
Laurence Docherty, midfielder of the Dutch men’s hockey team, after using the new cooling bath: ‘It takes some getting used to when you step into the cooling bath. You really notice that your body has to make the switch and adjust to the cold water. But the cooling bath does have an effect on my body, for my muscles feel more relaxed. I feel the blood flow, metabolic products are carried off more efficiently and I have less muscle cramps. After a cooling bath, my legs feel lighter and more relaxed than when I just take a shower.'

An athlete who uses the cooling bath feels his or her body recover more quickly, which means that he or she will sooner be ready for a new peak performance. This is particularly important for athletes who have to perform at their very best on several consecutive days, for example at the Olympic Games.

Cooling the body helps mitigate the physical effects of intense exercise, such as muscle pains and ‘heavy legs’. Hans Tossijn, physical therapist for the Dutch men’s hockey team: ‘By preventing the muscles from swelling, after-cooling optimizes muscle metabolism.’

In after-cooling the emphasis is on muscle recovery. After a peak performance, top athletes often suffer from muscle damage that temporarily reduces their athletic capabilities. Quick cooling after intense exercise is an effective way of preventing muscle-tissue breakdown and speeding up the recovery process.

DSM and sports
Sport is about performing at a top level, day in, day out. About passion, ambition, wanting to be the best, about continuous improvement and teamwork. As such, sport embodies a number of DSM’s core values. Just like sportspeople DSM is continuously pushing its limits: Unlimited.DSM. Innovation is one of the main spearheads of DSM’s strategic course, with its focus on Life Sciences and Materials Sciences, and it is equally important in the world of sports: innovations in the fields of nutrition and materials can mean the difference between victory and defeat. Innovation is our Sport™ is therefore an apt title for DSM’s program in the field of sports.

DSM and NOC*NSF have been “Partners in Sport” since 2001. In the run-up to Beijing 2008, DSM has stepped up its efforts in the field of sports and innovation even further in the hope of making a major contribution to the success of the Dutch Olympic team during the Summer Games of 2008.