Return to Physical Activity Following Injury: Towards Understanding a More Accessible Solution for Shorter Recovery Time.

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of cryotherapy application on hip adductors and ankle evertors on the Overall Stability Index (OSI), the Medio-Lateral Stability Index (MLSI), and the Antero-Posterior Stability Index (APSI) in healthy adult females.

Detailed Description
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Cryotherapy is one of the most common and inexpensive forms of treatment for both acute and chronic injuries. Yet, there is a deficiency in research concerning the impact of cooling on balance in healthy females

Official Title
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Return to Physical Activity Following Injury: Towards Understanding a More Accessible Solution for Shorter Recovery Time.

Conditions
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Cryotherapy

Intervention / Treatment
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* Other: Cryotherapy


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: healthy females will participate in this study. All participants should have unrestricted ankle and hip joints range of motion as well as ankle and hip muscles strength grade four to five (using manual muscle testing). Exclusion Criteria: Participants will be excluded from the study if they had any previous history of hip or ankle joint neuromuscular or musculoskeletal injury or surgery, any pathology to the hip or ankle joints (i.e. abnormal ligament laxity and congenital deformities), any problems related to balance and stability.

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years
Maximum Age: 30 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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Female

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Prevention
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Crossover Assignment
Interventional Model Description: Participants will be randomly assigned into one of two locations of the cryotherapy application. Some began the session with cryotherapy being applied on their ankle evertors, while others began the session with the cryotherapy being applied on their hip adductors.
Masking: Single


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Active Comparator: Ankle evertors<br>Ice packs will be applied to the selected muscles according to the random selection that will be performed previously. The ice bags will be filled with crushed ice, weighing approximately one half of a kilogram. They will be wrapped in a thin cotton towel, and applied on the skin along the anatomical location of the tested muscles. For the ankle evertors, the ice bag will be applied to the lateral side of the ankle encompassing the lateral malleolus.The cryotherapy session will be lasted for exactly 20 minutes . Sessions will be separated by a 30-minute rest interval | Other: Cryotherapy<br>* Crushed ice in a plastic bag will be used, as it is a widely accessible and financially convenient method of cryotherapy. One half of a kilogram of ice will be placed in a plastic bag. The plastic bags will be 17 cm wide and 22 cm long. The air will be squeezed out of the bag and it will be sealed. The bag will be wrapped in a wet towel and applied to the tested area. Every five bags of crushed ice will be kept in an insulated foam container containing one kilogram of dry ice. Dry ice has a temperature of negative 80 degrees Celsius, and is used to keep the bags of crushed ice in a frozen state till the participants are briefed and the testing began.<br>|
| Active Comparator: Hip adductors<br>Ice packs will be applied to the selected muscles according to the random selection that will be performed previously. The ice bags will be filled with crushed ice, weighing approximately one half of a kilogram. They will be wrapped in a thin cotton towel, and applied on the skin along the anatomical location of the tested muscles. For the hip adductors, the ice bag will be applied to the medial side of the thigh, covering the entire area from the groin, to just above the knee joint. The cryotherapy session will be lasted for exactly 20 minutes . Sessions will be separated by a 30-minute rest interval | Other: Cryotherapy<br>* Crushed ice in a plastic bag will be used, as it is a widely accessible and financially convenient method of cryotherapy. One half of a kilogram of ice will be placed in a plastic bag. The plastic bags will be 17 cm wide and 22 cm long. The air will be squeezed out of the bag and it will be sealed. The bag will be wrapped in a wet towel and applied to the tested area. Every five bags of crushed ice will be kept in an insulated foam container containing one kilogram of dry ice. Dry ice has a temperature of negative 80 degrees Celsius, and is used to keep the bags of crushed ice in a frozen state till the participants are briefed and the testing began.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Overall Stability Index | The Stability Index represented the variance of platform displacement in degrees from a leveled position in both the AP and ML directions. A high number is indicative of poor neuromuscular control, which may increase the potential for orthopedic injury or falling. | changes from Baseline to immediately after the cryotherapy application | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Medio-lateral Postural Stability Index |  | changes from Baseline to immediately after the cryotherapy application | 
| Antero-posterior Postural Stability index |  | changes from Baseline to immediately after the cryotherapy application | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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Postural Stability, Public Health, Balance