View article

This study sought to a) compare and contrast the effect of 2 commonly used cryotherapy treatments, 4 min of −110°C whole body cryotherapy and 8°C cold water immersion, on knee skin temperature and b) establish whether either protocol was capable of achieving a skin temperature (<13°C) believed to be required for analgesic purposes. After ethics committee approval and written informed consent was obtained, 10 healthy males (26.5±4.9 yr, 183.5±6.0 cm, 90.7±19.9 kg, 26.8±5.0 kg/m², 23.0±9.3% body fat; mean±SD) participated in this randomised controlled crossover study. Skin temperature around the patellar region was assessed in both knees via non-contact, infrared thermal imaging and recorded pre-, immediately post-treatment and every 10 min thereafter for 60 min. Compared to baseline, average, minimum and maximum skin temperatures were significantly reduced (p<0.001) immediately …