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Aim. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of ice massage on the signs and symptoms associated with exercise-induced muscle damage.
Methods. Nine recreationally resistance trained males performed an exercise protocol designed to induce muscle damage on 2 separate occasions; this was performed on the dominant or non-dominant arm in a random cross over design. The protocol consisted of 3 sets of 10 repetitions of single arm biceps eurls, at 70% of a pre-determined one repetition maximum (IRM), with the eccentric phase of the contraction extended to 7 seconds. Subjects were also randomly assigned to an ice massage group or control group in the cross over design and received treatments immediately post-exercise, 24 hours and 48 hours post-exercise. IRM, plasma ereatine kinase (CK), muscle soreness (DOMS), limb girth and range of motion (ROM) were measured pre, immediately post, 24 hours, 48 hours and 72 hours post-exercise.
Results. Significant time effects were observed for all dependent variables (p<0.05), though no significant group effects were observed. A group by time interaction was found for CK (p<0.05), which at 72 hours post-exercise was significantly lower in the ice massage group (p<0.05).
Conclusion. These results indicate that although ice massage reduces the appearance of CK it has no other effect on signs and symptoms associated with exercise-induced muscle damage.
KEY WORDS: Exercise - Cryotherapy - Creatine kinase - Muscle, skeletal, physiology.
Unaccustomed eccentric exercise places skeletal muscle under high levels of mechanical stress that may lead to exercise-induced muscle damage.'-6 Training regimes incorporating eccentric exercise result in fatigue and pain often felt for many days post-exercise,7 with symptoms including delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), increased blood plasma concentration of intramuscular proteins such as creatine kinase (CK), reduced range of movement (ROM) and decreased maximal concentric strength and performance.1-7-11
Athletes, sport scientists and sports medicine professionals are constantly searching for methods to accelerate recovery, which will enable the athlete to return to training and further stress the muscle in an attempt to increase physiological adaptation. Cryotherapy may be defined as the therapeutic application of cold that results in the withdrawal of heat from a body and therefore lowering of tissue temperature.12 Modes of cryotherapy include ice or cold pack application with or without compression, cold water...