Effect of cold treatment on the concentric and eccentric torque-velocity relationship of the quadriceps femoris

This study examined the effect of cold treatment on the force-velocity relationship of the quadriceps muscle of 16 athletes. Each subject performed three maximal concentric and eccentric quadriceps contractions on the Kin-Com at 25, 50, 75, 100, 125, 150, 175 and 200° s−1. On one of two testing ses sions, subjects received a 20 min ice application prior to testing, and for the remaining session, no ice was applied. The results revealed no significant change in the torque-velocity relationship. A trend analysis revealed linear relationships for the concentric ice [F (1,15) = 82.23] and no ice [F (1,15) = 44.86] conditions as well as for the eccentric ice [F (1,15) = 38.58] and no ice [F (1,15) = 26.40] conditions. There were no significant differences between the concentric ice and no ice means at any velocity, but peak torque at 200° s−1 was significantly different from peak torque at 25–100° s−1. For eccentric contractions there was a difference between ice and no ice means, with an increase of 20% and 16% for the ice condition at 175 and 200° s−1, respectively. For the eccentric ice conditions across velocities, the PT at 200° s−1 was significantly different from the PT at 125–200° s−1. This suggests that the application of ice will not decrease strength but may in fact result in an increase in eccentric strength.