Trial reportEuropean journal of applied physiology2018
The effects of local forearm muscle cooling on motor unit properties.
Trial report in European journal of applied physiology, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 34 citations in OpenAlex.
- Temperature-induced symptoms in adolescents and adults with spinal muscular atrophy.Journal of neuromuscular diseases · 2026Article
- Influence of local temperature on motor unit behavior during rapid contractions in humans.European journal of applied physiology · 2025Article
- Occupational cold stress and rewarming alters skin temperature thresholds for manual dexterity decrements: An exploratory study.Physiological reports · 2025Article
- The Impact of Fucoidan Extracts on Heat-Stress-Induced Loss of In Vitro Fast-Twitch Muscle Function in Mice.Muscles (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Recent updates on cold adaptation in population and laboratory studies, including cross-adaptation with nonthermal factors.Journal of physiological anthropology · 2025Review
- Influence of temperature on twitch potentiation following submaximal voluntary contractions in human plantar flexor muscles.Physiological reports · 2023Article
- Article
- Teaching Essential EMG Theory to Kinesiologists and Physical Therapists Using Analogies Visual Descriptions, and Qualitative Analysis of Biophysical Concepts.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Direct Effect of Local Cryotherapy on Muscle Stimulation, Pain and Strength in Male Office Workers with Lateral Epicondylitis, Non-Randomized Clinical Trial Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- The Effect of Local Cooling at the Elbow on Nerve Conduction Velocity and Motor Unit Behaviour: An Exploration of a Novel Neurological Assessment.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Effects of the Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation Contraction Sequence on Motor Skill Learning-Related Increases in the Maximal Rate of Wrist Flexion Torque Development.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2021Article
- Muscle temperature kinetics and thermoregulatory responses to 42 °C hot-water immersion in healthy males and females.European journal of applied physiology · 2020Article
- The effects of local muscle temperature on force variability.European journal of applied physiology · 2019Article
- Effects of muscle cooling on kinetics of pulmonary oxygen uptake and muscle deoxygenation at the onset of exercise.Physiological reports · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
purposeMuscle cooling impairs maximal force. Using needle electromyography (EMG) to assess motor unit properties during muscle cooling, is limited and equivocal. Therefore, we aimed to determine the impact of local muscle cooling on motor unit firing properties using surface EMG decomposition.
methodsTwenty participants (12 M, 8 F) completed maximal, evoked, and trapezoidal contractions during thermoneutral and cold muscle conditions. Forearm muscle temperature was manipulated using 10-min neutral (~ 32 °C) or 20-min cold (~ 3 °C) water baths. Twitches and maximal voluntary contractions were performed prior to, and after, forearm immersion in neutral or cold water. Motor unit properties were assessed during trapezoidal contractions to 50% baseline force using surface EMG decomposition.
resultsImpaired contractile properties from muscle cooling were evident in the twitch amplitude, duration, and rate of force development indicating that the muscle was successfully cooled from the cold water bath (all d ≥ 0.5, P < 0.05). Surface EMG decomposition showed muscle cooling increased the number of motor units (d = 0.7, P = 0.01) and motor unit action potential (MUAP) duration (d = 0.6, P < 0.001), but decreased MUAP amplitude (d = 0.2, P = 0.012). Individually, neither motor unit firing rates (d = 0.1, P = 0.843) nor recruitment threshold (d = 0.1, P = 0.746) changed; however, the relationship between the recruitment threshold and motor unit firing rate was steeper (d = 1.0, P < 0.001) and had an increased y-intercept (d = 0.9, P = 0.007) with muscle cooling.
conclusionsSince muscle contractility is impaired with muscle cooling, these findings suggest a compensatory increase in the number of active motor units, and small but coupled changes in motor unit firing rates and recruitment threshold to produce the same force.
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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.