Muscle Reaction Time During a Simulated Lateral Ankle Sprain After Wet-Ice Application or Cold-Water Immersion
Thain PK, Bleakley CM, Mitchell AC
Journal of athletic training · 9 citations
Review labels
Neutral facts our review recorded about how this study was done. They describe method, never whether we like the result.
How it was studied
- Design
- Randomized controlled trial (indexed by PubMed)
- Studied in
- People
- Main outcome
- Health markers and function
Who paid for it
- Funding
- Funding not disclosed
Publication
- Published
- 2015-06-11 · J Athl Train · vol. 50 · issue 7 · pp. 697–703
- Publisher
- National Athletic Trainers' Association
- Cited
- 23 citations · more than 73% of similar papers · 1.0× the field average
- References
- 66 works
- Access
- Open access (repository copy)
- Research areas
- Sports injuries and prevention · Exercise and Physiological Responses · Winter Sports Injuries and Performance
- Keywords
- Peroneus longus, Cryotherapy, Medicine, Ankle, Ankle sprain, Tibialis anterior muscle, Physical medicine and rehabilitation, Physical therapy, Surgery, Anatomy, Skeletal muscle
- MeSH
- foot, muscle, skeletal, ankle joint, humans, joint instability, ankle injuries, water, cryotherapy, reaction time, ice, movement, adolescent, adult, female, male, young adult, athletes
3 authors
From GB
- Peter K. ThainUniversity of Hertfordshire
- Chris BleakleyUniversity of Ulster
- Andrew MitchellUniversity of Bedfordshire
Abstract
Context
Cryotherapy is used widely in sport and exercise medicine to manage acute injuries and facilitate rehabilitation. The analgesic effects of cryotherapy are well established; however, a potential caveat is that cooling tissue negatively affects neuromuscular control through delayed muscle reaction time. This topic is important to investigate because athletes often return to exercise, rehabilitation, or competitive activity immediately or shortly after cryotherapy.
Objective
To compare the effects of wet-ice application, cold-water immersion, and an untreated control condition on peroneus longus and tibialis anterior muscle reaction time during a simulated lateral ankle sprain.
Design
Randomized controlled clinical trial.
Setting
University of Hertfordshire human performance laboratory.
Patients or other participants
A total of 54 physically active individuals (age = 20.1 ± 1.5 years, height = 1.7 ± 0.07 m, mass = 66.7 ± 5.4 kg) who had no injury or history of ankle sprain.
Intervention(s)
Wet-ice application, cold-water immersion, or an untreated control condition applied to the ankle for 10 minutes.
Main outcome measure(s)
Muscle reaction time and muscle amplitude of the peroneus longus and tibialis anterior in response to a simulated lateral ankle sprain were calculated. The ankle-sprain simulation incorporated a combined inversion and plantar-flexion movement.
Results
We observed no change in muscle reaction time or muscle amplitude after cryotherapy for either the peroneus longus or tibialis anterior (P > .05).
Conclusions
Ten minutes of joint cooling did not adversely affect muscle reaction time or muscle amplitude in response to a simulated lateral ankle sprain. These findings suggested that athletes can safely return to sporting activity immediately after icing. Further evidence showed that ice can be applied before ankle rehabilitation without adversely affecting dynamic neuromuscular control. Investigation in patients with acute ankle sprains is warranted to assess the clinical applicability of these interventions.
Abstract via Europe PMC. Copyright remains with the authors or publisher.
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