Abstract
Proprioception plays an important role in the complex mechanism of joint control. Contemporary sport activities impose extremely high physical demands on athletes. Winter sports are played in areas with excessively low temperatures. Moreover, many athletes are subjected to treatments that involve local lowering of the body temperature before, during, and after physical activity. This work reviews the current knowledge regarding the influence of local cryotherapy on the proprioception system. The reviewed literature identified several tests that evaluate different aspects of proprioception. There is no universally agreed protocol, or clear set of criteria for test conditions. The outcomes of different tests and assessments of cryotherapy procedures using different cold modalities are poorly correlated. In general, the published results on the mechanism of cryotherapy effects on proprioception are not uniquely conclusive and are frequently contradictory. Additional high-quality research is required to explicitly answer the following questions: (1) whether local cryotherapy influences all aspects of proprioception; (2) whether the current methods of evaluation are adequate for the exploration of the relationship between cryotherapy and proprioception; and (3) whether the application of local cryotherapy is safe for athletes regarding proprioception. The review clearly showed that there is no comprehensive model relating cryotherapy and proprioception.
Highlights
Proprioception is defined as the perception of joint position and movement as well as “the afferent information arising from internal peripheral areas of the body that contribute to postural control, joint stability, and several conscious sensations” [2, 3]
Postural equilibrium, which describes the balanced state of forces and their moments acting on the center of the body mass, is primarily based on vestibular information; it depends on muscle sense, joint position sense, and resistance to movement
General Conclusions from the Reviewed Studies Twelve studies reported no adverse effects on proprioception [15, 17, 24, 29, 48, 49, 51, 54, 57,58,59,60]
Summary
The term “proprioception” was developed in 1906 by Sherrington [1], who first used the hypotheses of the “proprioceptive field,” the “proprioceptive reflex,” and the “proprioceptive system.” Proprioception is defined as the perception of joint position and movement as well as “the afferent information arising from internal peripheral areas of the body (located predominantly in the muscles, tendons, joint capsules and ligaments) that contribute to postural control (postural equilibrium), joint stability (segmental posture), and several conscious sensations (muscle sense)” [2, 3]. Proprioception is defined as the perception of joint position and movement as well as “the afferent information arising from internal peripheral areas of the body (located predominantly in the muscles, tendons, joint capsules and ligaments) that contribute to postural control (postural equilibrium), joint stability (segmental posture), and several conscious sensations (muscle sense)” [2, 3]. Kinesthesia, and a sense of force (tension, resistance, or weight) comprise proprioception [3, 7,8,9]. Postural equilibrium, which describes the balanced state of forces and their moments acting on the center of the body mass, is primarily based on vestibular information (to be proprioceptive with respect to the head); it depends on muscle sense, joint position sense, and resistance to movement. Proprioception and balance are interconnected [10], and, for the purpose of this review, balance is considered with proprioception
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