Neuro-muscular Fatigue Induced by Repeated-Sprint Exercise: The Effect of Cold Water Immersion

Abstract

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to measure the changes in root mean square (RMS) and median frequency (MDF) of biceps femoris, rectous femoris, and vastus laterialis muscles after one bout of repeated-sprint ability (RSA) and cold water immersion (CWI). Materials and Methods: Twenty trained athletes were selected to take part in this study. After performing repeated-sprint activity, 10 participants immersed in cold water (14 °C) and 10 participants sat on a chair at room temperature. Electromyography-Maximal voluntary contraction (EMG-MVC) was performed at four intervals: before and after RSA, after CWI or passive rest and after 24 h. Results: The results showed that there was a significant decrease in RMS of the vastus laterialis [P CWI = 0.037, P Control (P CON ) = 0.010] and rectus femoris (P CON , P CWI = 0.0001) muscles after RSA activity in the 1 st day and the MDF of the vastus laterialis (P CWI = 0.100, P CON = 0.850) muscle also had no significant changes during RSA. Meanwhile, the MDF of rectus femoris decreased significantly (P = 0.001) right after CWI and the last set of the activity (P = 0.030). There were also no significant changes in RMS (P CON = 1.00, P CWI = 0.999) and MDF (P CWI = 0.190, P CON = 0.450) of biceps femoris. Conclusion: Our study showed that CWI had no effects on neuro muscular function. -