What are the Physiological Mechanisms for Post-Exercise Cold Water Immersion in the Recovery from Prolonged Endurance and Intermittent Exercise?

This is a narrative review arguing that cold-water immersion aids short-term recovery mainly by reducing hyperthermia and consequent CNS-mediated fatigue and cardiovascular strain, with additional discussion of longer-term adaptation. Because it is a review rather than a primary study, no risk-of-bias instrument applies; the key limitation is that the extraction reports no methods section, no stated search strategy, and no formal appraisal of the included evidence, so it provides mechanistic narrative rather than a systematically assembled effect estimate.