Effect of Lower Leg Cold Immersion on Dynamic Balance of Athletes and Nonathlete

Abstract

Objective In recent years, cold water immersion (CWI) following heavy training sessions and matches\ris commonly used for reducing recovery time. Some studies have investigated the effect of CWI on the\rperformance and physical fitness of athletes. However, there have been no investigations on the effect\rof cold application on dynamic balance. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the effect\rof 8-minute cooling of the foot and ankle by immersion in ice on the dynamic balance of athletes\rand nonathletes .\rMaterials & Methods A total of 58 Tehran university students (29 athletes and 29 nonathletes; mean\r[SD]age: 22.2[2 ]y, mean [SD] weight: 69.2[2] kg, and mean [SD] height: 175.2[2] cm) consented to\rparticipate in the study. They were divided into four groups. The anteroposterior and lateral Indices of\rdynamic balance were assessed by the Biodex Stability System . In order to familiarize the participants\rwith the Biodex system and prepare them for the evaluation of dynamic balance, each participant was\rasked to practice on Biodex for one minute. All the subjects were required to immerse their entire\rfeet and ankles in cold water (1°C) for 8 minutes. The water level was approximately 5 cm above the\rlateral malleolus. After the cold application, the dynamic balance of the participants was reassessed. An\rANOVA at P<0.05 was used to analyze data.\rResults It was found that there was no significant difference in the overall stability before (M=2.94,\rSD=1.26) and after cryotherapy (M=2.66, SD=1.40). There is no (t(57)=1.29, P=0.202) . A significant\rdifference was observed in anterior-posterior stability index before (M=2.27, SD=1.06) and after cryotherapy\r(M=2.08, SD=1.19), (t(57)=0.98, P=0.33). The lateral stability index after cryotherapy (M=1.78,\rSD=0.88) showed a significant increase compared to before applying the cold therapy (M=2.05,\rSD=0.84) (t(57)=2.10, P=0.03).\rThe results of ANOVA with repeated measures showed that the effect of athlete or nonathletes is\rnot significant on the overall stability index and anterior-posterior (P=0.48) and lateral stability index\r(P=0.18) before and after cold application.\rConclusion The results of this study suggest that cryotherapy through immersion of foot and ankle does\rnot have a negative effect on the overall and anteroposterior indices of dynamic balance of athletes\rand nonathletes following an 8-min ice water immersion. It seems that the immersion process affected\ronly the surface receptors of the skin and did not affect the deeper joint receptors that have a key role\rin balance.