Cold application for neuromuscular recovery following intense lower-body exercise

This study examined the effects of cold therapy (COLD) on recovery of voluntary and evoked contractile properties following high-intensity, muscle-damaging and fatiguing exercise. Ten resistance-trained males performed 6 × 25 maximal concentric/eccentric muscle contractions of the dominant knee extensors (KE) followed by a 20-min recovery (COLD v control) in a randomized cross-over design. Voluntary and evoked neuromuscular properties of the right KE, ratings of perceived muscle soreness (MS) and pain, and blood markers for muscle damage were measured pre- and post-exercise, and immediately post-recovery, 2, 24 and 48-h post-recovery. Exercise resulted in decrements in voluntary and evoked torque, increased MS and elevated muscle damage markers ( p 0.05). Activation of right KE decreased post-exercise with increased activation of biceps femoris (BF) ( p 0.05). No significant differences were observed between conditions for creatine kinase or asparate aminotransferase ( p > 0.05). However, perceptual ratings of pain were significantly ( p