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Local cryotherapy is ineffective in accelerating recovery from exercise-induced muscle damage on biceps brachii

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Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the effects of local cryotherapy on the recovery from symptoms of exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD) on biceps brachii.

Methods

Nineteen untrained women performed an eccentric protocol of damage induction (2 sets of 10 repetitions) in both arms after the baseline data collection. The cryotherapy was applied for 20 min, twice per day, for 4 days following the eccentric exercise. Randomly, one of the subject’s arms was assigned as intervention, and received cryotherapy, the opposite arm served as control. As muscle damage indirect markers, we collected muscle thickness, and echo intensity, delayed onset muscle soreness, and peak torque at baseline (PRE), and at 24, 48, 72, and 96 h.

Results

Muscle thickness at PRE was significantly lower than all time points in both experimental and control arms. Echo intensity at PRE was significantly lower than 24, 48, and 72 h in the experimental arm, and significantly lower than all time points in the control arm. Muscle soreness assessed by flexion–extension, and by self-palpation of both the experimental and the control arms significantly increased compared to the PRE value at 24, 48, and 72 h. Peak Torque of both experimental and control arm was significantly lower than all time points after EIMD. None of the muscle damage indirect markers showed any significant difference between arms at any moment (p > 0.05).

Conclusion

The results demonstrated that the protocol of cryotherapy utilized in the present study was not effective in enhancing the recovery from EIMD in untrained women.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the National Counsel of Technological and Scientific Development for the scientific initiation scholarship.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Physical Therapy and Physical Education Course, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Rua Felizardo 750. Jardim Botânico, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, 90690-200, Brazil

    C. S. Lima, Diulian Muniz Medeiros, L. R. Prado, M. O. Borges & N. M. Nogueira

  2. Exercise Research Laboratory, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Rua Felizardo 750. Jardim Botânico, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, 90690-200, Brazil

    R. Radaelli & R. S. Pinto

Authors
  1. C. S. Lima
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  2. Diulian Muniz Medeiros
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  3. L. R. Prado
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  4. M. O. Borges
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  5. N. M. Nogueira
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  6. R. Radaelli
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Correspondence to Diulian Muniz Medeiros.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures of the present study were approved by the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul Review Board, and they were performed in accordance with the ethical standards of the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Lima, C.S., Medeiros, D.M., Prado, L.R. et al. Local cryotherapy is ineffective in accelerating recovery from exercise-induced muscle damage on biceps brachii. Sport Sci Health 13, 287–293 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11332-017-0355-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11332-017-0355-8

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