The Acute Effect of Cold Spray Application on the Mechanical Properties of the Quadriceps Muscle in Athletes

Tissue cooling (cryotherapy treatment) is a long-standing pain therapy for the treatment of acute injuries and during rehabilitation. It is used in addition to other treatments . The main purpose of cryotherapy is to cool the tissue temperature and is used in the clinic in the form of various cryotherapy modalities such as whole body cryotherapy, cold spray, cryotherapy clamps, frozen peas, cold water immersion, ice and cold packs . The first physiological response of cooling is a decrease in tissue temperature . Studies have shown that local cold application causes increased resistance to movement . Although it has been reported in animal studies conducted in vitro that muscle tissue shows high resistance to stretching after cooling down , only one study evaluating direct mechanical responses to muscles in human studies There. In this study carried out by Mustalampi et al., Parameter measurements indicating the mechanical properties of the muscle immediately after applying the cold pack applied locally to the quadriceps muscle for 20 minutes and after 15 minutes. As a result of the study, the muscle has become stiffer, less elastic in terms of mechanical properties and it has been shown that these changes do not completely recover after 15 minutes. It was also stated that careful warm-up should be recommended after cooling to normalize the mechanical properties of the muscle and prevent injury .

Also known as cold spray, vikocoolant spray is a form of cryotherapy used in sports medicine, athletic training and rehabilitation environments and is widely used in the world . Especially in field medicine, it is frequently used as the first treatment of sports injuries. However, as is often done, returning to the game and competition with the help of the emerging analgesia is inconvenient in terms of the treatment of injury . However, it is still used frequently due to ease of application. The use of cold spray as a therapeutic method is of particular interest, as it is typically applied for a much shorter time than other cryotherapy modes . It has been shown in the literature that local cold application can cause increased resistance to movement and it is reported that it can change the mechanical properties of the muscle in a short time. However, the effect of cold spray application on the mechanical properties of the muscle is unknown. Therefore, in the current study proposal, the investigators aim to investigate the acute effect of cold spray application on the mechanical properties of the quadriceps muscle in athletes.