Research Paper: Effect of Lower Leg Cold Immersion on Dynamic Balance of Athletes and Nonathlete

In recent years, cold water immersion (CWI) following heavy training sessions and matches is commonly used for reducing recovery time. Some studies have investigated the effect of CWI on the performance and physical fitness of athletes. However, there have been no investigations on the effect of cold application on dynamic balance. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the effect of 8-minute cooling of the foot and ankle by immersion in ice on the dynamic balance of athletes and nonathletes .
A total of 58 Tehran university students (29 athletes and 29 nonathletes; mean [SD]age: 22.2[2 ]y, mean [SD] weight: 69.2[2] kg, and mean [SD] height: 175.2[2] cm) consented to participate in the study. They were divided into four groups. The anteroposterior and lateral Indices of dynamic balance were assessed by the Biodex Stability System . In order to familiarize the participants with the Biodex system and prepare them for the evaluation of dynamic balance, each participant was asked to practice on Biodex for one minute. All the subjects were required to immerse their entire feet and ankles in cold water (1°C) for 8 minutes. The water level was approximately 5 cm above the lateral malleolus. After the cold application, the dynamic balance of the participants was reassessed. An ANOVA at PIt was found that there was no significant difference in the overall stability before (M=2.94, SD=1.26) and after cryotherapy (M=2.66, SD=1.40). There is no (t(57)=1.29, P=0.202) . A significant difference was observed in anterior-posterior stability index before (M=2.27, SD=1.06) and after cryotherapy (M=2.08, SD=1.19), (t(57)=0.98, P=0.33). The lateral stability index after cryotherapy (M=1.78, SD=0.88) showed a significant increase compared to before applying the cold therapy (M=2.05, SD=0.84) (t(57)=2.10, P=0.03).
The results of ANOVA with repeated measures showed that the effect of athlete or nonathletes is not significant on the overall stability index and anterior-posterior (P=0.48) and lateral stability index (P=0.18) before and after cold application.
The results of this study suggest that cryotherapy through immersion of foot and ankle does not have a negative effect on the overall and anteroposterior indices of dynamic balance of athletes and nonathletes following an 8-min ice water immersion. It seems that the immersion process affected only the surface receptors of the skin and did not affect the deeper joint receptors that have a key role in balance.