WORLD JOURNAL OF ADVANCE
HEALTHCARE RESEARCH

MSc. PT. Cemaliye Hürer*, Prof. Dr. Zafer Erden and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ender Angın

ABSTRACT

Cold application (CA) is one of the thermal treatment methods used as an analgesic treatment for the reduction of inflammation after acute injury or trauma. CA reduces neuronal transport speed, therefore fewer muscle fibers proliferate with insufficient proprioception that affect muscle strength. This study was carried out to determine whether joint position sense (JPS) and muscle strength would change according to temperature change caused by CA. 30 healthy males aged between 18 and 30 were included in the study. CA was performed on the knee joint for 15 minutes. Knee JPS and muscle strength were evaluated using an isokinetic dynamometer. Temperature change was monitored by digital hand-held thermometer. To determine the responses of the participants related to physiological temperature change for cold application, the temperature change of the skin was analyzed before and after the cold application for 15 minutes, and the median value of all participants was determined. Therefore, the participants were divided into two groups as those with a skin temperature change amount below 11.90°C (n=15) and above 11.90°C (n=15). The 15-minute CA didn’t cause any effect on JPS and muscle strength at all angles of the analyzed knee (p>0.05). Considering the differences between the physiological responses of the participants to the cold application, there was no difference between the two groups in terms of their knee JPS and concentric muscle strength (p>0.05). 15-minute CA could be used safely without causing a reduction in proprioceptive sense or muscle strength before exercises or during sports competitions.