Objective:
To determine whether a standard 20-min ice-bath (10°C) immersion of the leg alters vertical ground-reaction-force components during a 1 -legged vertical jump.
Design:
A 1 × 5 factorial repeated-measures model was used.
Setting:
The Applied Biomechanics Laboratory at The University of Mississippi.
Participants:
Fifteen healthy and physically active subjects (age = 22.3 ± 2.1 years, height = 177.3 ± 12.2 cm, mass = 76.3 ± 19.1 kg) participated.
Intervention:
Subjects performed 25 one-legged vertical jumps with their preferred extremity before (5 jumps) and after (20 jumps) a 20-min cold whirlpool to the leg. The 25 jumps were reduced into 5 sets of average trials.
Main Outcome Measures:
Normalized peak and average vertical ground-reaction forces, as well as vertical impulse obtained using an instrumented force platform.
Results:
Immediately after cryotherapy (sets 2 and 3), vertical impulse decreased (P = .01); peak vertical ground-reaction force increased (set 2) but then decreased toward baseline measures (P= .02). Average vertical ground-reaction force remained unchanged (P >.05).
Conclusions:
The authors advocate waiting approximately 15 min before engaging in activities that require the production of weight-bearing explosive strength or power.
