1.
Leg immersion in warm water, stretch-shortening exercise, and exercise-induced muscle damage.
Skurvydas, A, Kamandulis, S, Stanislovaitis, A, Streckis, V, Mamkus, G, Drazdauskas, A
Journal of athletic training. 2008;(6):592-9
Abstract
CONTEXT Whether muscle warming protects against exercise-induced muscle damage is unknown. OBJECTIVE To determine the effect of leg immersion in warm water before stretch-shortening exercise on the time course of indirect markers of exercise-induced muscle damage. DESIGN Crossover trial. SETTING Human kinetics laboratory. PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS Eleven healthy, untrained men (age = 21.5 +/- 1.7 years). INTERVENTION(S): Participants' legs were immersed in a water bath at 44 +/- 1 degrees C for 45 minutes. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Creatine kinase changes in the blood, muscle soreness, prolonged (within 72 hours) impairment in maximal voluntary contraction force and height of drop jump, and electrically evoked muscle force at low and high stimulation frequencies at short and long muscle lengths. RESULTS Leg immersion in warm water before stretch-shortening exercise reduced most of the indirect markers of exercise-induced muscle damage, including creatine kinase activity in the blood, muscle soreness, maximal voluntary contraction force, and jump height. The values for maximal voluntary contraction force and jump height, however, were higher during prewarming than for the control condition at 48 hours after stretch-shortening exercise, but this difference was only minor at other time points. Muscle prewarming did not bring about any changes in the dynamics of low-frequency fatigue, registered at either short or long muscle length, within 72 hours of stretch-shortening exercise. CONCLUSIONS Leg immersion in warm water before stretch-shortening exercise reduced most of the indirect markers of exercise-induced muscle damage. However, the clinical application of muscle prewarming may be limited, because decreasing muscle damage did not necessarily lead to improved voluntary performance.
2.
Effect of topical aerosol skin refrigerant (spray and stretch technique) on passive and active stretching.
Kostopoulos, D, Rizopoulos, K
Journal of bodywork and movement therapies. 2008;(2):96-104
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of the use of a vapocoolant blend of pentafluoropropane and tetrafluoroethane (Gebauer's Spray and Stretch) on hip flexion stretching. METHODS Thirty volunteers were randomly assigned to spray and stretch treatment and stretch only control groups. Each group was assessed pre- and posttest on passive and active hip flexion range of motion (ROM). RESULTS Findings indicated greater posttest hip flexion gains for the spray and stretch group over the stretch only group for both active and passive ROM. Additionally, females achieved greater pre- and posttest differences on active ROM compared to males. CONCLUSIONS Study findings suggest that spray and stretch techniques can be an effective treatment in increasing hip flexion ROM.