Precooling leg muscle improves intermittent sprint exercise performance in hot, humid conditions

Abstract

We used three techniques of precooling to test the hypothesis that heat strain would be alleviated, muscle temperature (Tmu) would be reduced, and as a result there would be delayed decrements in peak power output (PPO) during exercise in hot, humid conditions. Twelve male team-sport players completed four cycling intermittent sprint protocols (CISP). Each CISP consisted of twenty 2-min periods, each including 10 s of passive rest, 5 s of maximal sprint against a resistance of 7.5% body mass, and 105 s of active recovery. The CISP, preceded by 20 min of no cooling (Control), precooling via an ice vest (Vest), cold water immersion (Water), and ice packs covering the upper legs (Packs), was performed in hot, humid conditions (mean +/- SE; 33.7 +/- 0.3 degrees C, 51.6 +/- 2.2% relative humidity) in a randomized order. The rate of heat strain increase during the CISP was faster in Control than Water and Packs (P < 0.01), but it was similar to Vest. Packs and Water blunted the rise of Tmu until minute 16 and for the duration of the CISP (40 min), respectively (P < 0.01). Reductions in PPO occurred from minute 32 onward in Control, and an increase in PPO by approximately 4% due to Packs was observed (main effect; P < 0.05). The method of precooling determined the extent to which heat strain was reduced during intermittent sprint cycling, with leg precooling offering the greater ergogenic effect on PPO than either upper body or whole body cooling.

Influence of the ten sessionsof the whole body cryostimulationon aerobic and anaerobic capacity

“…Most researchers have addressed the effects of local cold treatments, where particular parts of the body were cooled or whole body was immersed in cold water on the level of chosen motor abilities or physical work capacity, under different temperatures [30][31][32][33][34][35][36]. Others evaluated the influence of cooling on the rate of recovery following injuries [19,22,27].…”

The influence of single whole body cryostimulation treatment on the dynamics and the level of maximal anaerobic power

“…Other research showed a positive influence of different cooling procedures, applied 20 min before the onset of sprint effort performed on an ergocycle, on the level of maximal anaerobic power [18]. Cooling the whole body prior to exercise causes a lowering of internal tempera ture, which positively influences thermoregulatory pro cesses during physical efforts of maximal intensity [35].…”

“…A short warmup prior to exercise may effectively diminish the negative effects of whole body cooling by elevating deep muscle temperature, thus confirming the thesis presented ear lier that incorporating a warmup procedure after whole accessible literature. Most scientists have addressed the effects of local cryotherapy treatments, where particu lar parts of the body were cooled, on the level of chosen motor abilities or physical work capacity, under different temperatures [18,[28][29][30][31][32][33]. Other authors evaluated the in fluence of local cooling on the rate of recovery following injuries [20,22,24].…”

“…Benefits of cryotherapy were also registered in the treatment of the respiratory system [15]. There is a lot of research supporting positive effects of cryogenic treatments on the immune [16,17] and endocrine systems [18,19], which significantly improve the regulatory processes of the body. As an effect of application of extremely low temperatures, a series of physiological mechanisms are triggered.…”

The Short and Long Term Effects of Tibialis Anterior Local Cooling on Dorsiflexion Force

“…Local cooling interventions can be carried out using ice packs or immersion in cold water (Van Lunen et al, 2003;Verducci, 2000). When ice packs are applied over the muscle belly it leads to the reduction of skin and muscle temperatures resulting in changes in the Unauthenticated Download Date | 5/10/18 2:36 AM physiological proprieties of the muscle (Castle et al 2006;Petrofsky & Laymon, 2005;Rutkove, 2001). It has been shown that local muscle cooling may influence muscle resistance (Castle et al, 2006;Verducci, 2000) and force production (Oksa 2002;Oksa et al, 1997;Holewijn & Heus, 1992).…”