Effect of pulsed ultrasound versus placebo on muscle soreness perception and muscular performance
One article on PainSci cites Hasson 1990: A Deep Dive into Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness
original abstract †Abstracts here may not perfectly match originals, for a variety of technical and practical reasons. Some abstacts are truncated for my purposes here, if they are particularly long-winded and unhelpful. I occasionally add clarifying notes. And I make some minor corrections.
The purpose of this study was to compare the analgesic effect of pulsating ultrasound treatment and placebo on delayed onset of muscle soreness produced by an eccentric exercise bout. In addition, the effect of pulsed ultrasound on muscular performance following an eccentric exercise bout was studied. Eighteen untrained subjects were randomly assigned to: 1) ultrasound (A) [N = 6] over the areas of concentrated muscle soreness, i.e. proximal vastus lateralis and distal vastus medialis; 2) placebo ultrasound (B) [N = 6]; and 3) no therapeutic intervention (C) [N = 6]. Baseline data were recorded for maximum isometric knee extension contraction (MVC), maximum knee extension torque (MT), knee extension work (W), and soreness perception (SP). All values were subsequently reassessed 24 and 48 hours after intense muscular activity. Immediately following the 24 hour reassessment the A group received ultrasound treatment, the B group received placebo ultrasound, while the C group received no treatment. Percent deviation from baseline of SP, MVC, MT and W were significantly less for A than B and C (p less than 0.05) at 48 hours post muscle soreness bout. These data indicate that pulsed ultrasound accelerates restoration of normal muscle performance, and thus is effective in decreasing delayed onset of muscle soreness. The mechanism for decreasing soreness perception in the muscle is unknown, but may be related to decreasing intramuscular pressure and/or decreasing the inflammatory response.
This page is part of the PainScience BIBLIOGRAPHY, which contains plain language summaries of thousands of scientific papers & others sources. It’s like a highly specialized blog. A few highlights:
- No long-term effects after a three-week open-label placebo treatment for chronic low back pain: a three-year follow-up of a randomized controlled trial. Kleine-Borgmann 2022 Pain.
- Exercise and education versus saline injections for knee osteoarthritis: a randomised controlled equivalence trial. Bandak 2022 Ann Rheum Dis.
- Association of Lumbar MRI Findings with Current and Future Back Pain in a Population-based Cohort Study. Kasch 2022 Spine (Phila Pa 1976).
- A double-blinded randomised controlled study of the value of sequential intravenous and oral magnesium therapy in patients with chronic low back pain with a neuropathic component. Yousef 2013 Anaesthesia.
- Is Neck Posture Subgroup in Late Adolescence a Risk Factor for Persistent Neck Pain in Young Adults? A Prospective Study. Richards 2021 Phys Ther.