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Updated: Jun 28, 2025
08:51
The Use of Thermal Infra-Red Imaging to Detect Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness
Published on: January 22, 2012
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Physical Therapies for Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness: A Protocol for an Umbrella and Mapping Systematic Review with
Szczepan Wiecha1, Paweł Posadzki2,3, Robert Prill4,5
1Department of Physical Education and Health in Biala Podlaska, Faculty in Biala Podlaska, Jozef Pilsudski University of Physical Education, 00-968 Warsaw, Poland.
Journal of Clinical Medicine
|April 13, 2024
Summary
This umbrella review synthesizes evidence on physiotherapy for delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), also known as exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD). It aims to clarify effective treatments for muscle recovery and inform future research directions.
Area of Science:
- Sports Medicine
- Physical Therapy
- Exercise Physiology
Background:
- Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), or exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD), results from strenuous exercise, causing pain and reduced performance.
- Existing systematic reviews on physiotherapy interventions for DOMS/EIMD offer conflicting conclusions, hindering clinical decision-making.
- There is a lack of consensus on the optimal physiotherapeutic care standards for managing DOMS/EIMD.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review and synthesize evidence on the clinical outcomes (efficacy and safety) of physiotherapy interventions for DOMS/EIMD in healthy adults.
- To assess the quality of existing evidence and map data from relevant systematic reviews.
- To identify promising therapies and potential research gaps for DOMS/EIMD treatment.
Main Methods:
- An umbrella review methodology incorporating an evidence map and meta-meta-analyses.
- Searched multiple databases (MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane, Epistemonikos, PEDro) from January 1998 to February 2024 for systematic reviews of randomized controlled trials.
- Included physiotherapy interventions (e.g., laser therapy, electrical stimulation, heat/cold, ultrasound, massage) for DOMS/EIMD in healthy adults; excluded narrative reviews and non-physiotherapy interventions.
Main Results:
- The review critically evaluates the quality and overlaps of existing systematic reviews on physiotherapy for DOMS/EIMD.
- An evidence map will be generated to visually represent the credibility of evidence for various interventions.
- Data from included systematic reviews will be summarized to identify trends and inconsistencies.
Conclusions:
- DOMS/EIMD is a complex condition with no universally agreed-upon standard of care.
- This umbrella review will provide clinicians with insights into potentially effective therapies for DOMS/EIMD.
- The findings are expected to guide future research by highlighting gaps in the current evidence base.
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