Context:
If ankle joint cryotherapy impairs the ability of the ankle musculature to counteract potentially injurious forces, the ankle is left vulnerable to injury.
Objective:
To compare peroneal reaction to sudden inversion following ankle joint cryotherapy.
Design:
Repeated measures design with independent variables, treatment (cryotherapy and control), and time (baseline, immediately post treatment, 15 minutes post treatment, and 30 minutes post treatment).
Setting:
University research laboratory.
Patients or Other Participants:
Twenty-seven healthy volunteers.
Intervention(s):
An ice bag was secured to the lateral ankle joint for 20 minutes.
Main Outcome Measures:
The onset and average root mean square amplitude of EMG activity in the peroneal muscles was calculated following the release of a trap door mechanism causing inversion.
Results:
There was no statistically significant change from baseline for peroneal reaction time or average peroneal muscle activity at any post treatment time.
Conclusions:
Cryotherapy does not affect peroneal muscle reaction following sudden inversion perturbation.
