The effects of ice immersion on concentric and eccentric isokinetic muscle performance in the ankle

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of cryotherapy on isokinetic ankle strength immediately after ice immersion treatment, Concentric (CON) and eccentric (ECC) isokinetic ankle strength was measured on 20 male subjects using a Kin Com 125 AP (Chattanooga Group, Hixson, TN) isokinetic dynamometer. Plantar flexion, dorsiflexion, inversion and eversion motions were assessed at speeds of 60 degrees/s and 120 degrees/s before and immediately after an ice immersion treatment (10 degrees C for 20'). Peak torque (PT) values were extracted from the maximal torque curves and used in the data analysis. ECC PT was higher than CON PT at both speeds and was not affected by ice immersion treatment. The only notable finding was a significant main effect for test (PRE vs. POST) for CON dorsiflexion ankle strength. The Tukey post hoc test determined that POST test PT values (39.7 +/- 12.7 Nm) were significantly lower than PRE test scores (45.9 +/- 11.2 Nm). This finding suggests that CON dorsiflexion strength in the ankle may be adversely affected immediately after ice immersion application. Clinicians should still exercise caution when allowing athletes to return to competition immediately following ice immersion application to the lower leg.