Hydrotherapies such as cold water immersion (CWI) and contrast hot/cold water therapy (CWT) are commonly used by athletes, following competition or training, to assist in the recovery process and to return the athlete to normative physiological state as quickly as possible. To date, investigations on recovery have focussed on peripheral variables to measure the effectiveness of hydrotherapies. Conversely, limited study has been completed to investigate the role of the central nervous system (CNS) fatigue (known as central fatigue) during the post-exercise recovery period. Using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), we investigated the CNS in subjects following repeated exhaustive exercise bouts followed with hydrotherapy based recovery modalities. Methods: Eight trained subjects (6 m; 20 to 35 years of age; mean VO2max 59.43 ± 3.73 ml.kg-1.min-1) participated in a cross-over design of three interventions (CWI, 12-14° C for 14 mins; CWT of alternating one min hot, 38 - 40° C, and cold immersion, 12-14° C, repeated seven times; and passive rest at room ambient temperature 22° C for 14 mins) following exhaustive performance conducted over five days. Measures included excitability of the CNS (motor evoked potential amplitude or MEP) assessed using TMS, time to fatigue (TTF) performance, blood markers for muscle inflammation (lactate dehydrogenase and c-reactive protein) and damage (myoglobin and creatine kinase), and visual analogue scales (VAS) for soreness and fatigue. Results: No changes were observed with muscle damage or markers of inflammation when compared to pre-exercise values. All subjects, participating in all conditions, showed a progressive reduction in performance and MEP amplitude (p=0.04). However, greater cumulative decrements in TTF performance and MEP amplitude were demonstrated in the passive condition (30.8% decrease in performance by day five) compared to the CWI or CWT conditions (17.7% and 13.5% decrease by day five respectively). Further, MEP amplitude was associated with performance (r=0.83; p=0.01) and VAS for fatigue (r=0.75; p=0.01). Discussion: Although no differences were observed between the two hydrotherapy conditions, the results showed that hydrotherapy modalities, compared to the passive recovery, were more effective in reducing repeated performance decrements and MEP amplitudes. However, immediate changes in MEP amplitudes post recovery were not observed.
© Copyright 2009 14th annual Congress of the European College of Sport Science, Oslo/Norway, June 24-27, 2009, Book of Abstracts. Julkaistu Tekijä The Norwegian School of Sport Sciences. Kaikki oikeudet pidätetään. / Kääntänyt https://www.DeepL.com/Translator