The Acute Effects of Cold Water Immersion and Percussive Massage Therapy on Neuromuscular Properties and Muscle Soreness after Exercise in Young Male Soccer Players

Abstract

Cold water immersion (CWI) and percussive massage therapy (PMT) are commonly used recovery techniques in team sports. In particular, despite its wide use, PMT has been scarcely investigated in the literature, especially regarding neuromuscular measures and in comparison with other techniques. This study aimed to evaluate and compare the acute and short-term effects (24 h) of CWI and PMT on muscle strength, contractile properties, and soreness after exercise. A randomized crossover study was performed on sixteen male soccer players (22 years, 20-27) who participated in three experimental sessions involving a fatiguing protocol consisting of a Yo-Yo Intermittent Endurance Test followed by 3 × 10 squat jumps and a wall sit for 30 s, and 12 min of recovery including CWI (10 °C water), bilateral PMT on the anterior and posterior thigh, or passive resting. Outcomes were assessed immediately after the exercise protocol, after the recovery intervention, and at 24 h. Isometric knee extension (IKE) and flexion (IKF) and tensiomyography (TMG) were assessed. Muscle soreness and fatigue were scored from 0 to 10. PMT increased strength after the treatment (p = 0.004) and at 24 h (p = 0.007), whereas no significant differences were found for the other two recovery modalities. At post-recovery, compared to CON, CWI resulted in a longer TMG contraction time (p = 0.027). No significant differences were found at 24 h. Finally, PMT and CWI enhanced muscle soreness recovery compared to passive rest (F_4,60 = 3.095, p = 0.022, _pη² = 0.171). Preliminary results from this study suggest that PMT might improve isometric strength after strenuous exercise, and both PMT and CWI reduce muscle soreness perception, while the effects on TMG parameters remain controversial.

Keywords: cryotherapy; massage guns; recovery; team sport.

Figure 1

A schematic representation of the cross-over protocol showing the fatiguing protocol followed by the outcomes assessment (tensiomyography and isometric strength) and the recovery interventions (cold water immersion, CWI; percussive massage therapy, PMT; and passive rest, CON).

Figure 2

Effects of cold water immersion (CWI, circles, blue), percussive massage therapy (PMT, squares, green), and passive rest (CON, triangles, red) on (A) isometric knee extension (kg) and (B) isometric knee flexion (kg), post-fatigue protocol, post-recovery intervention, and at 24 h. Time × intervention analysis of variance on 16 participants: # significant difference between PMT and CON; $ significant difference between post-treatment and post-fatigue for PMT. Significance for p < 0.05.

Figure 3

Effects of cold water immersion (CWI, circles, blue), percussive massage therapy (PMT, squares, green), and passive rest (CON, triangles, red) on muscle soreness perception (score 0–10), post-fatigue protocol, post-recovery intervention, and at 24 h. Time x intervention analysis of variance on 16 participants: * significant difference between CWI and CON; # significant difference between PMT and CON; † significant difference between post-treatment and post-fatigue for CWI; $ significant difference between post-treatment and post-fatigue for PMT; £ significant difference between 24 h and post-treatment for PMT; § significant difference between post-treatment and post-fatigue for CON. Significance for p < 0.05.