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Effects of Immediate and Delayed Repeated Cold Exposure After Physical Exertion: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Callum Buehler1, Ronja Romitti1, Vanessa Wellauer1
1Rehabilitation and Exercise Science Laboratory (RESlab), Department of Business Economics, Health and Social Care, University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland, 7302 Landquart, Switzerland.
Neither immediate nor delayed local cooling significantly improved recovery from exercise-induced muscle fatigue compared to no cooling. The study found no meaningful recovery advantage for either cooling timing. This research provides a framework for future cryotherapy studies.
Area of Science:
- Sports Medicine
- Exercise Physiology
- Muscle Recovery
Background:
- Local cryotherapy is a common practice for managing exercise-induced muscle damage.
- Optimal timing for cold application to enhance recovery remains undetermined.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether immediate or delayed local cooling impacts recovery from exercise-induced muscle fatigue.
- To compare the effects of immediate cooling, delayed cooling, and a control group on recovery markers.
Main Methods:
- Forty-eight healthy adults underwent eccentric leg-extension exercise to induce muscle fatigue and delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS).
- Participants were randomized into immediate cooling, delayed cooling (24h post-exercise), or control groups.
- Outcomes including DOMS, maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC), creatine kinase (CK), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), and muscle thickness (MT) were assessed over 72 hours.
Main Results:
- No significant differences in DOMS or MVIC recovery were found between the immediate cooling, delayed cooling, and control groups.
- While DOMS, CK, and ESR showed time-dependent changes, MVIC recovered gradually.
- No systematic recovery advantage was observed for CRP, and muscle thickness exhibited minimal changes.
Conclusions:
- Neither immediate nor delayed local cooling offered a significant recovery benefit over the control condition.
- The experimental protocol effectively induced fatigue and recovery patterns, validating its use for future cryotherapy research.
