Subcutaneous adipose tissue thickness alters cooling time during cryotherapy.
OBJECTIVE
To determine if differing subcutaneous adipose thickness alters the treatment duration required to produce a standard cooling effect during cryotherapy.


METHODS
A 4-group, between-groups comparison in which the independent variable was skinfold thickness (0-10mm, 11-20mm, 21-30mm, 31-40mm) and the dependent variable was cooling time, defined as the treatment duration required to decrease intramuscular (IM) temperature 7 degrees C from baseline.


METHODS
A sports injury research laboratory.


METHODS
Forty-seven volunteers with anterior thigh skinfold measurement of less than 40mm.


METHODS
Topical cryotherapy (750g crushed-ice bag) to the anterior thigh to produce a typical cooling effect, defined as IM temperature at 1cm subadipose declining by 7 degrees C.


METHODS
Cryotherapy treatment duration required to produce a standardized cooling effect in subjects with differing subcutaneous adipose thickness.


RESULTS
Analysis of variance revealed that mean time to cool IM tissues by 7 degrees C differed across all groups, with cooling time increasing as adipose thickness increased. The mean +/- standard deviation cooling times were as follows: 31-40mm (58.6+/-11.7min), 21-30mm (37.8+/-9.6min), 11-20mm (23.3+/-6.7min), and 0-10mm (8.0+/-3.4min).


CONCLUSIONS
During cold application, there is a clinically important direct relationship between adipose thickness and required cooling time. This relationship necessitates dramatic adjustments to cryotherapy duration to produce similar IM temperature changes. A 25-minute treatment may be adequate for a patient with a skinfold of 20mm or less; however, a 40-minute application is required to produce similar results in a patients with skinfolds between 21 and 30mm, whereas a 60-minute application is required for patients with skinfolds of 30 to 40mm.
Otte
Jeffrey W
JW
Minnesota Vikings, Eden Prairie, Minnesota, USA.
Merrick
Mark A
MA
Ingersoll
Christopher D
CD
Cordova
Mitchell L
ML
D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology*; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001823:Body Composition / Q000502:physiology; D001833:Body Temperature Regulation / Q000502:physiology*; D017679:Cryotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications; D012885:Skinfold Thickness; D040521:Subcutaneous Tissue / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology*; D013816:Thermodynamics; D013848:Thigh; D013997:Time Factors