Leg immersion in warm water, stretch-shortening exercise, and exercise-induced muscle damage.
BACKGROUND
Whether muscle warming protects against exercise-induced muscle damage is unknown.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the effect of leg immersion in warm water before stretch-shortening exercise on the time course of indirect markers of exercise-induced muscle damage.


METHODS
Crossover trial.


METHODS
Human kinetics laboratory.


METHODS
Eleven healthy, untrained men (age = 21.5 +/- 1.7 years).


METHODS
Participants' legs were immersed in a water bath at 44 +/- 1 degrees C for 45 minutes.


METHODS
Creatine kinase changes in the blood, muscle soreness, prolonged (within 72 hours) impairment in maximal voluntary contraction force and height of drop jump, and electrically evoked muscle force at low and high stimulation frequencies at short and long muscle lengths.


RESULTS
Leg immersion in warm water before stretch-shortening exercise reduced most of the indirect markers of exercise-induced muscle damage, including creatine kinase activity in the blood, muscle soreness, maximal voluntary contraction force, and jump height. The values for maximal voluntary contraction force and jump height, however, were higher during prewarming than for the control condition at 48 hours after stretch-shortening exercise, but this difference was only minor at other time points. Muscle prewarming did not bring about any changes in the dynamics of low-frequency fatigue, registered at either short or long muscle length, within 72 hours of stretch-shortening exercise.


CONCLUSIONS
Leg immersion in warm water before stretch-shortening exercise reduced most of the indirect markers of exercise-induced muscle damage. However, the clinical application of muscle prewarming may be limited, because decreasing muscle damage did not necessarily lead to improved voluntary performance.
Skurvydas
Albertas
A
Lithuanian Academy of Physical Education, Kaunas, Lithuania. a.skurvydas@lkka.lt
Kamandulis
Sigitas
S
Stanislovaitis
Aleksas
A
Streckis
Vytautas
V
Mamkus
Gediminas
G
Drazdauskas
Adomas
A
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001833:Body Temperature Regulation; D003402:Creatine Kinase; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D006358:Hot Temperature / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D007101:Immersion; D007866:Leg / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D052580:Muscle Stretching Exercises / Q000379:methods*; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000293:injuries* / Q000502:physiology; D052097:Quadriceps Muscle / Q000293:injuries / Q000502:physiology
D003402:Creatine Kinase