Thermal therapy and delayed onset muscle soreness.

Area of Science:

• Exercise Physiology
• Sports Science
• Muscle Recovery

Background:

• Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is a common consequence of strenuous eccentric exercise.
• Effective recovery strategies are crucial for athletes to minimize muscle damage and optimize performance.
• Water immersion therapies, including cold and warm water, are frequently employed for post-exercise recovery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of cold water (CW) and warm water (WW) immersion on DOMS recovery after eccentric exercise.
• To compare the efficacy of CW and WW immersion against a control group (CO) receiving no water intervention.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial involving 60 healthy, moderately athletic young men.
• Participants performed 10 sets of 10 eccentric hamstring contractions (Deadlift, 70% 1RM).
• Post-exercise interventions included 30 minutes of CW (20°C), WW (38°C), or no intervention (CO).
• Blood samples were collected pre-exercise and at 30 minutes, 1, 2, and 6 hours post-exercise to analyze muscle stress markers.

Main Results:

• Eccentric exercise induced significant increases in muscle stress parameters across all groups.
• Warm water (WW) immersion led to a notable decrease in muscle cell reaction and reduced levels of skeletal troponin I (sTnI), creatine kinase (CK), and myoglobin (Mb).
• Cold water (CW) immersion appeared to elevate muscle cell stress reactions.

Conclusions:

• Warm water (38°C for 30 minutes) immersion post-exercise effectively mitigates exercise-induced muscle cell stress and damage markers.
• Cold water (20°C for 30 minutes) immersion may exacerbate muscle cell stress reactions following eccentric exercise.
• WW immersion shows promise as a beneficial recovery strategy for managing DOMS.