Effect Of Cold Immersion Research Articles

Influence of Guided-Stretching Exercises and Cool Immersion on Functional Performance in Young Women

Objective: Cold therapy has been pointed out as beneficial treatment for acute injuries. Stretching exercises have been widely used during last decades for prevention and recovery purposes. Functional performance tests have evolved in a mode of determining an athlete´s functional ability. The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of ice immersion and a guided-stretching exercises protocol to the lower extremity on functional performance in a student, female population. Methods: Twenty-five female physical activity students volunteered to participate in this study. We used a pretestpostest design with an untreated control group. Before and immediately following the treatment, subjects performed these functional performance tests: the squat jump (SJ), the counter-movement jump (CMJ), 30-m sprint, and 1000- m run. Subjects were randomly assigned to either a control group (n=9) or 2 experimental groups: ice immersion/no stretching (n=8); no ice immersion/stretching (n=8). The experiment was repeated two hours later the same day and two days later. The postest procedures were performed as previously described. The average of the two test trials for jumping functional performance tests was used for comparison. Results: Results showed no significant differences among these routines on functional performance scores. ANOVA analysis revealed no significant differences among these routines on functional performance scores. The 30-m sprint (p<0.24) and 1000-m run (p<0.01) scores were significantly improved in control group on day 1, and SJ test data showed a marked reduction (p<0.01). Conclusion: Immediate effects of cold immersion and guided-stretching exercises on functional performance in the lower extremity should be considered with caution. Further research is necessary to investigate the possible mechanisms and any short-term effect caused by these approaches.

Effect of cold immersion on grip force, EMG, and thermal discomfort

This study has investigated the effect of gender, cold and warm immersion on hand skin temperature, grip MVC, EMG, and discomfort. In this study, twelve male and twelve female participants immersed their hands in a cold water tank for 40 min followed by warm water immersion for 15 min, during which all performance measures were collected. Structural equation model was applied to examine relationship among skin temperature, gender, anthropometrics, and MVC. The results indicate that the cold immersion had an enormous effect on skin temperature, which subsequently affected the MVC. Gender had significant impact on skin temperature and MVC, and MVC was also affected by palm length. Due to adaptation, participants experienced greater discomfort at the beginning of the cold immersion and the discomfort diminished after 4 min. During warm immersion, the EMG resumed its baseline after 15 min which indicates that the muscle performance was fully recovered after 15 min of warm immersion. Relevance to industry Statement indicating the relevance of the findings for ergonomics practice. Performance of the workers exposed to different temperature conditions is a common problem in industries. This study was designed to test the MVC, EMG, thermal discomfort sensation and hand skin temperature response to cold and warm immersion of the human forearm. The result can help to protect workers who work in cold immersion occupations such as fisherman, fish filleters, and divers.

The Effects of Cold Immersion on Muscle Strength

The Effects of Cold Immersion on Muscle Strength

The Effects of Cold Immersion on Muscle Strength

ABSTRACT This study examined the effects of cold water immersion on isokinetic and isometric strength on 10 physically active male college students. Isokinetic knee extension strength (30,180,300, and 400 · sec−1) and isometric strength were assessed. Isometric testing consisted of 5-see isometric knee extension muscle actions at a 45° angle. Subjects randomly performed all three treatment conditions: a cold treatment (12°C), thermal neutral treatment (35.5°C), or nonimmersion room temperature treatment (22–23°C). For the cold and thermal neutral treatments both thighs were immersed in a whirlpool tank with moving water leveled to each subject's gluteal fold. Treatments lasted 45 min. Higher isokinetic velocities demonstrated a significant decrease in average peak torque, average power, and total work. No significant changes were observed for isometric force or low velocity movements. No significant decreases were observed for the angle of peak torque or for time to peak torque. This study demonstrated that if the thighs are immersed in cold water, functional strength performance at higher movement velocities will be impaired.

The combined effect of the cold pressor test and isometric exercise on heart rate and blood pressure

The purpose of this study was to determine if the cold pressor test during isometric knee extension [15% of maximal voluntary contraction (MVC)] could have an additive effect on cardiovascular responses. Systolic and diastolic blood pressures, heart rate and pressure rate product were measured in eight healthy male subjects. The subjects performed the cold pressor tests and isometric leg extensions singly and in combination. The increases of systolic and diastolic blood pressure during isometric exercise were of almost the same magnitude as those during the cold pressor test. The responses of arterial blood pressure, and heart rate to a combination of the cold pressor test and isometric knee extension were greater than for each test separately. It is suggested that this additional effect of cold immersion of one hand during isometric exercise may have been due to vasoconstriction effects in the contralateral unstressed limb. In summary, the circulatory effects of the local application of cold during static exercise at 15% MVC were additive.