Ice massage. Effects on exercise-induced muscle damage
PainSci summary of Howatson 2003?This page is one of thousands in the PainScience.com bibliography. It is not a general article: it is focused on a single scientific paper, and it may provide only just enough context for the summary to make sense. Links to other papers and more general information are provided at the bottom of the page, as often as possible. ★★★☆☆?3-star ratings are for typical studies with no more (or less) than the usual common problems. Ratings are a highly subjective opinion, and subject to revision at any time. If you think this paper has been incorrectly rated, please let me know.
A small study showing no effect of ice massage on muscle soreness after exercise. The massage was not very “massage-y,” but non-ice massage for DOMS is also somewhat tainted by this evidence.
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.
AIM: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of ice massage on the signs and symptoms associated with exercise-induced muscle damage.
METHODS: Nine recreationally resistance trained males performed an exercise protocol designed to induce muscle damage on 2 separate occasions; this was performed on the dominant or non-dominant arm in a random cross over design. The protocol consisted of 3 sets of 10 repetitions of single arm biceps curls, at 70% of a pre-determined one repetition maximum (1RM), with the eccentric phase of the contraction extended to 7 seconds. Subjects were also randomly assigned to an ice massage group or control group in the cross over design and received treatments immediately post-exercise, 24 hours and 48 hours post-exercise. 1RM, plasma creatine kinase (CK), muscle soreness (DOMS), limb girth and range of motion (ROM) were measured pre, immediately post, 24 hours, 48 hours and 72 hours post-exercise.
RESULTS: Significant time effects were observed for all dependent variables (p<0.05), though no significant group effects were observed. A group by time interaction was found for CK (p<0.05), which at 72 hours post-exercise was significantly lower in the ice massage group (p<0.05).
CONCLUSION: These results indicate that although ice massage reduces the appearance of CK it has no other effect on signs and symptoms associated with exercise-induced muscle damage.
related content
These two articles on PainScience.com cite Howatson 2003 as a source:
- PS Post-Exercise, Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness — The biology & treatment of “muscle fever,” the deep muscle soreness that surges 24-48 hours after an unfamiliar workout intensity
- PS Massage Does Not Reduce Inflammation — The making of a new massage myth from a high-tech study of muscle samples after intense exercise
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:
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- Association of Spinal Manipulative Therapy With Clinical Benefit and Harm for Acute Low Back Pain: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Paige 2017 JAMA.