Effects of local cryotherapy for recovery of delayed onset muscle soreness and strength following exercise-induced muscle damage: systematic review and meta-analysis

PurposeThe aim of the current study was to evaluate the effects of local cryotherapy on the main symptoms of exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD) through a systematic literature review.MethodsA search on Cochrane CENTRAL, MEDLINE (PubMed), Lilacs and PEDro databases was carried out from inception to March 2018. Studies that performed a protocol of muscle damage induction, and used local cryotherapy as intervention in comparison with control group/placebo were eligible. The studies should evaluate at least one of the outcomes of interest (delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) or muscle strength). Studies that did not evaluate any of the variables of interest or applied ice massage or other cooling modalities were excluded.ResultsThe search identified 221 studies, in which 7 studies met the eligibility criteria and were included. There was a mean PEDro score of 7.28, and all studies were ranked as high methodological quality. Meta-analysis showed local cryotherapy does not seem to be effective to accelerate recovery of DOMS (-0.11; 95% CI -0.8 to 0.57; I-2: 79%) or muscle strength (-0.59; 95% CI -2.89 to 1.71; I-2: 0%) following EIMD.ConclusionIn conclusion, the results showed that local cryotherapy does not seem to contribute for the improvement of DOMS and muscle weakness associated with EIMD.