Ag. Jameson et al., Lower-extremity-joint cryotherapy does not affect vertical ground-reactionforces during landing, J SPORT REH, 10(2), 2001, pp. 132-142
Context: Cryotherapy is commonly used in the care of acute and chronic inju
ries. It decreases pain, reduces swelling, and causes vasoconstriction of b
lood vessels. Its detrimental effects on motor activity might predispose ph
ysically active individuals to further injury.
Objective: To examine the effects of cryotherapy on vertical-ground-reactio
n-force (VGRF) during a 2-legged landing from a a-legged targeted vertical
jump.
Design: 2 X 4 MANOVA with repeated measures.
Setting: Biomechanics laboratory.
Participants: 10 men, means: 22.40 +/- 1.26 years, 76.01 +/- 26.95 kg, 182.
88 +/- 6.88 cm.
Intervention: VGRF during landing from a targeted vertical jump (90% of max
imum) was measured before and after four 20-minute cryotherapy treatments.
Results: There were no significant differences in VGRF as a result of cryot
herapy.
Conclusion: Under the constraints of this study there is no evidence that r
eturning to activity immediately after cryotherapy predisposes an athlete t
o injury because of a change in VGRF.