Localized Muscle Cooling on Balance in Healthy Individuals

Healthy young adult aged 18-30 years will be recruited from the College of Applied Medical Sciences (CAMS), King Saud University, Riyadh. Subjects will be excluded if they had a history of a hip or knee injury, sensory deficits in the lower extremity, a history of lower-extremity surgery, or a history of a quadriceps or hamstring muscle injury. The protocol was submitted to and approved by the Ethics Sub-Committee of Rehabilitation Research chair (RRC-2018-011). Participants will be requested to sign a written informed consent form approved by the institution ethics committee. A total of 50 participants were randomly assigned to the quadriceps cooling (QC: n = 10), hamstrings cooling (HC: n = 10), calf cooling (CC: n = 10), back muscle cooling (BC: n = 10) or control (no cooling: n = 10) group by a lottery method.A baseline assessment of mean center of gravity (COG), sway velocity (degrees/sec) for the unilateral Stance (US) will be performed. After the baseline assessment, a cold pack (gel pack, temperature -6 degrees to -12 degrees Celsius) will be placed on the target muscle for 20 minutes. One thin dry towel will be kept between the cold pack and the skin to prevent skin damage. Before and after the application of ice application the skin sensibility will be assessed by testing the participant's to a pinprick.

Inclusion criteria

• Healthy young adults

Exclusion criteria

• history of a hip or knee injury, sensory deficits in the lower extremity and lower back, a history of lower-extremity surgery, spinal surgery, or a history of a quadriceps or hamstring muscle injury.