Effectiveness of air pulsed cryotherapy on delayed onset muscle soreness of elbow flexors following eccentric exercise

Abstract

Effectiveness of air pulsed cryotherapy on delayed onset muscle soreness of elbow flexors following eccentric exercise article info A r t i c l e h i s t o r y Ke y w o r d s Delayed onset muscle soreness Air pulsed cryotherapy Eccentric exercise D o i 10.29089/2017.17.00029 U s e r l i c e n s e This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution -NonCommercial -NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. abstract I n t r o d u c t i o n : Cryotherapy is widely used in sports to facilitate recovery from exercise-induced muscle damage that often results from strenuous training and/or competition. However, a paucity of evidence exists on the therapeutic values of repeated air pulsed cryotherapy (CRYO) application to suggest its usefulness to clinicians, coaches, sports scientists and athletes in the field of sports and rehabilitation. A i m : This study investigates the effectiveness of CRYO on the recovery from delayed onset of muscle soreness (DOMS) induced by eccentric exercise. M a t e r i a l a n d m e t h o d s : Thirty-two participants (21.31 ± 1.03 years, height 1.72 ± 0.05 m, BMI 22.15 ± 1.69 kg/cm 2 ) were equally randomized into CRYO group and control group (CONT). DOMS was induced by eccentric contractions of elbow flexors. Visual analogue scale score (VAS), mid arm circumference (MAC), pressure pain threshold (PPT), range of motion of active elbow flexion (ROM-AF), passive elbow flexion (ROM-PF), active elbow extension (ROM-AE), passive elbow extension (ROM-PE) and isometric peak torque of elbow flexors (IPT) were measured at pre-exercise (PRE), immediately, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 7 days post exercise.R e s u l t s a n d d i s c u s s i o n : There were significant interactions effect (group X time) with (P < 0.05) for VAS, MAC, PPT, ROM-PF, ROM-AE, and ROM-PE. Additionally, all outcome measures (except for ROM-AF and IPT) demonstrated a significant improvement (P < 0.05) in DOMS recovery in the CRYO group compared to CONT group. C o n c l u s i o n s : A 20 minutes (4 session × 5 minutes) session for 5 consecutive days of repeated air pulsed cryotherapy has beneficial effects on the recovery of DOMS on elbow flexors from eccentric exercise.

The Effect of Single Bout Treatment of Heat or Cold Intervention on Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness Induced by Eccentric Contraction

“…The frequency and duration of cold therapy were cited as reasons for the lack of preventive effects against DOMS. Doungkulsa et al [ 16 ] reported that air-pulse cryotherapy (−30 °C) was performed for five consecutive days at 20-min sessions (four sessions × 5 min) after DOMS induction on the elbow flexor muscles. The results indicated a significant improvement air-pulse cryotherapy group in SOR-st, PPT, and upper arm circumference compared with the CONT group.…”

“…According to previous studies [ 16 , 21 ], ROM was measured using a goniometer in the back-lying position in an anatomically correct posture, and joint angles were measured from the relaxed position with the arms along the body to the maximum extension position. Measurements were taken before and after the muscle damage protocol and on days 1–4 and 7 after the muscle damage protocol.…”

“…According to previous studies [ 16 , 18 , 22 ], using a visual analog scale that had a 100-mm continuous line with “not sore at all” on one side (0 mm) and “very, very sore” on the other side (100 mm), the magnitude of elbow flexor muscle soreness was assessed via muscle stretching at the elbow extension ROM measurement. Muscle soreness during ROM measurement was gathered twice to determine soreness during stretching, and the average value was used for further analysis.…”

“…Thus, it was suggested that cooling after the training intervention inhibits long-term muscle adaptation and other factors. However, Doungkulsa et al [ 16 ] performed 20 min (four sessions × 5 min) of air-pulsed cryotherapy on DOMS-induced elbow flexor muscles for five consecutive days and found improvement in pressure pain threshold (PPT), range of motion (ROM), muscle soreness at stretching (SOR-st), and brachial circumference. Thus, post-exercise cold therapy could have a negative effect on long-term muscle adaptation, but a preventive effect against DOMS can be expected.…”