Ankle Joint Cooling did not but Knee Joint Cooling altered the Quadriceps and Gastrocnemius Neuromuscular Activation During a Single-leg Drop Jump

Abstract

PURPOSE: We examined the immediate effect on ankle or knee joint cooling on the lower-extremity activation during a single-leg drop jump.METHODS: Twenty healthy adults randomly completed three data collection sessions (a 20-minute ankle or knee joint cooling, or control). Two wireless surface electromyography (EMG, 2,000 Hz) electrodes were attached over the vastus medialis (VM) and the medial gastrocnemius (MG) on their right limb. Subjects were asked to drop down from a wooden box (a 30-cm height) on their right foot onto the force platform (2,000 Hz) and then performed an immediate jump as high as they could. Whole EMG signals (normalised by the mean EMG value recorded during a reference position) within the preactivation (100-ms prior to contact) and the ground contact (on the force platform) during the drop jump task were analysed using functional linear models(p=.05, Cohen’s d effect size: ES).RESULTS: After knee joint cooling, (1) the VM activation was decreased during the ground contact (6 to 14%, 30 to 45%, 60 to 90% for ES of 0.50, 0.47, and 0.61, respectively) and (2) the MG activation was increased during the preactivation (84- to 29-ms prior to initial contact, ES=1.30) and the ground contact (59 to 100%, ES=1.40). No changes were observed under the condition of ankle joint cooling or control.CONCLUSIONS: A 20-minute unilateral knee joint cooling may result in an ipsilateral quadriceps inhibition during a drop jump task. The gastrocnemius appears to increase activation as a compensatory strategy responding to the quadriceps inhibition. The altered neuromuscular activations do not seem to put an individual at risk of injury, resulting from compressive forces in the sagittal plane.