Trial reportMedical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research2013
Effect of heat and cold on tendon flexibility and force to flex the human knee.
Trial report in Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
30 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Relationship of Healthy Building Determinants With Back and Neck Pain: A Systematic Review.American journal of health promotion : AJHP · 2023Pooled it
- The Effectiveness of Whole-Body Vibration and Heat Therapy on the Muscle Strength, Flexibility, and Balance Abilities of Elderly Groups.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Trial
- The Effect of Therapeutic Whirlpool and Hot Packs on Hand Volume During Rehabilitation After Distal Radius Fracture: A Blinded Randomized Controlled Trial.Hand (New York, N.Y.) · 2017Trial
- Article
- A Tissue Engineering's Guide to Biomimicry.Macromolecular bioscience · 2025Review
- Stretchable multifunctional wearable system for real-time and on-demand thermotherapy of arthritis.Microsystems & nanoengineering · 2025Article
- Prediction of Post-Bath Body Temperature Using Fuzzy Inference Systems with Hydrotherapy Data.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Current Indications and Future Direction in Heat Therapy for Musculoskeletal Pain: A Narrative Review.Muscles (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Warm-Up Strategies and Effects on Performance in Racing Horses and Sport Horses Competing in Olympic Disciplines.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2024Review
- Motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease are affected by temperature: A controlled pilot study.Brain and behavior · 2024Article
- Treatment Algorithms for Continuous Low-Level Heat Wrap Therapy for the Management of Musculoskeletal Pain: An Italian Position Paper.Journal of pain research · 2024Article
- The Influence of Weather Conditions on the Diurnal Variation in Range of Motion in Older Adults with Knee Osteoarthritis.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- Potential role of physical labor and cultural views of menstruation in high incidence of pelvic organ prolapse in Nepalese women: a comparative study across the menstrual cycle.Frontiers in medicine · 2024Article
- Comparison of the Effects of Superficial and Deep Heat Agents on Hamstring Muscle Flexibility in Healthy Individuals.Journal of clinical practice and research · 2023Article
- Relationship of Healthy Building Determinants With Musculoskeletal Disorders of the Extremities: A Systematic Review.Cureus · 2023Review
- Stretchable and Skin-Attachable Electronic Device for Remotely Controlled Wearable Cancer Therapy.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2023Article
- Musculoskeletal Pain Management and Thermotherapy: An Exploratory Analysis of Italian Physicians' Attitude, Beliefs, and Prescribing Habits.Journal of pain research · 2023Article
- Effects of wearable therapies on jump performance in sport horses.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2023Article
- The Influence of a Single Instrument-Assisted Manual Therapy (IAMT) for the Lower Back on the Structural and Functional Properties of the Dorsal Myofascial Chain in Female Soccer Players: A Randomised, Placebo-Controlled Trial.Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Article
- The effect of heat therapy on pain intensity, duration of labor during first stage among primiparous women and Apgar scores: A systematic review and meta-analysis.European journal of midwifery · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIt is commonly believed in medicine that using heat will increase the distensability and flexibility of soft tissue. If true, increased flexibility would be a positive factor to reduce injuries in sports. However, cold should have the opposite effect and is often used to treat sports injuries. This study was accomplished to quantify the effect of heat and cold on the force needed to flex the knee and laxness of the anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments. MATERIAL AND
methodsThe present study examined 20 male and female subjects to determine if heat would increase extensibility of the anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments of the knee and reduce the force needed to flex the knee. Cold exposure was examined to see if it would have the opposite effect. There were 4 experiments in the series: The first was a room temperature series; the second was a series where cold was applied with an ice pack for 20 minutes; in the third, hydrocollator heat packs were applied for 20 minutes; and in the fourth, ThermaCare heat wraps were applied for 4 hours on the quadriceps and knee. Tendon extensibility was measured with a KT2000. The force for flexing the knee was measured by passive movement being applied (CPM) to the knee through 30° and the force required to move the leg was measured.
resultsThe results show that the anterior and posterior cruciate ligament flexibility increased and the force needed to move the knee decreased with heat by about 25% compared to cold application.
conclusionsHeat is beneficial in increasing muscle and ligament flexibility and may help reduce athletic injuries, but cold treatment may have the opposite effect.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.