Single-Leg Landing Strategy after Knee-Joint Cryotherapy
in Journal of Sport RehabilitationClick name to view affiliation
Context:
Despite recent findings regarding lower extremity function after cryotherapy, little is known of the neuromuscular, kinetic, and kinematic changes that might occur during functional tasks.
Objective:
To evaluate changes in ground-reaction forces, muscle activity, and knee-joint flexion during single-leg landings after 20-minute knee-joint cryotherapy.
Design:
1 × 4 repeated-measures, time-series design.
Setting:
Research laboratory.
Patients or Other Participants:
20 healthy male and female subjects.
Intervention:
Subjects performed 5 single-leg landings before, immediately after, and 15 and 30 minutes after knee-joint cryo-therapy.
Main Outcome Measures:
Ground-reaction force, knee-joint flexion, and muscle activity of the gastrocnemius, hamstrings, quadriceps, and gluteus medius.
Results:
Cryotherapy did not significantly (P > .05) change maximum knee-joint flexion, vertical ground-reaction force, or average muscle activity during a single-leg landing.
Conclusion:
Knee-joint cryotherapy might not place the lower extremity at risk for injury during landing.
Hart is with the Dept of Orthopaedic Surgery, and Ingersoll, the Dept of Kinesiology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904-4407. Leonard is with the Dept of Kinesiology, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH 43606.
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