ReviewSports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.)2018
Turning Up the Heat: An Evaluation of the Evidence for Heating to Promote Exercise Recovery, Muscle Rehabilitation and Adaptation.
Review in Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07045129 (Thermal Therapies in the Treatment of Muscle Injuries), which is not on this map. Cited by 45 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.
Thermal Therapies in the Treatment of Muscle Injuries
Who cites it
45 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 92 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of Post-Exercise Heat Exposure on Acute Recovery and Training-Induced Performance Adaptations: A Systematic Review.Sports medicine - open · 2025Pooled it
- Cold- and hot-water immersion are not more effective than placebo for the recovery of physical performance and training adaptations in national level soccer players.European journal of applied physiology · 2025Trial
- Effect of repeated post-resistance exercise cold or hot water immersion on in-season inflammatory responses in academy rugby players: a randomised controlled cross-over design.European journal of applied physiology · 2024Trial
- Passive thigh heating increases peak torque but does not attenuate declines in force production during repeated isokinetic knee extensor exercise in older adults.Physiological reports · 2026Article
- Common and Divergent Physiological Responses to Hypoxia and Heat.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2026Review
- Physiotherapy approaches for pain control in patients who are critically ill.World journal of critical care medicine · 2026Review
- Skeletal Muscle HSF1 Alleviates Age-Associated Sarcopenia and Mitochondrial Function Decline via SIRT3-PGC1α Axis.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Biomechanical assessment of dressage Spanish horses through accelerometry and the immediate effects of a single capacitive resistive electrical transfer session.BMC veterinary research · 2026Article
- Muscle regeneration is improved by hot water immersion but unchanged by cold following a simulated musculoskeletal injury in humans.The Journal of physiology · 2025Article
- Isolated and Combined Effects of Cold, Heat and Hypoxia Therapies on Muscle Recovery Following Exercise-Induced Muscle Damage.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2025Review
- DMPC-Based Liposomal Vesicles for Encapsulation and Controlled Release of NMN and Matrigel in Sarcopenia Therapy.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Thermal Modalities Including Hot Baths and Cold Plunges Play a Unique Role in Injury Prevention and Recovery.Arthroscopy, sports medicine, and rehabilitation · 2025Article
- Dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine Lipid Vesicles for Delivering HMB, NMN, and L-Leucine in Sarcopenia Therapy.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- The influence of passive heating garments worn in temperate and cold conditions prior to simulated performance for male soccer substitutes.Physiological reports · 2025Article
- Effects of thermal interventions on skeletal muscle adaptations and regeneration: perspectives on epigenetics: a narrative review.European journal of applied physiology · 2025Review
- Effects of repeated use of post-exercise infrared sauna on neuromuscular performance and muscle hypertrophy.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2025Article
- The Effects of Combined Contrast Heat Cold Pressure Therapy on Post-Exercise Muscle Recovery in MMA Fighters: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of human kinetics · 2024Article
- Optimal Duration of Cold and Heat Compression for Forearm Muscle Biomechanics in Mixed Martial Arts Athletes: A Comparative Study.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2024Article
- Passive heating-induced changes in muscle contractile function are not further augmented by prolonged exposure in young males experiencing moderate thermal stress.Frontiers in physiology · 2024Article
- Reduction in systemic muscle stress markers after exercise-induced muscle damage following concurrent training and supplementation with specific collagen peptides - a randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in nutrition · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Historically, heat has been used in various clinical and sports rehabilitation settings to treat soft tissue injuries. More recently, interest has emerged in using heat to pre-condition muscle against injury. The aim of this narrative review was to collate information on different types of heat therapy, explain the physiological rationale for heat therapy, and to summarise and evaluate the effects of heat therapy before, during and after muscle injury, immobilisation and strength training. Studies on skeletal muscle cells demonstrate that heat attenuates cellular damage and protein degradation (following in vitro challenges/insults to the cells). Heat also increases the expression of heat shock proteins (HSPs) and upregulates the expression of genes involved in muscle growth and differentiation. In rats, applying heat before and after muscle injury or immobilisation typically reduces cellular damage and muscle atrophy, and promotes more rapid muscle growth/regeneration. In humans, some research has demonstrated benefits of microwave diathermy (and, to a lesser extent, hot water immersion) before exercise for restricting muscle soreness and restoring muscle function after exercise. By contrast, the benefits of applying heat to muscle after exercise are more variable. Animal studies reveal that applying heat during limb immobilisation attenuates muscle atrophy and oxidative stress. Heating muscle may also enhance the benefits of strength training for improving muscle mass in humans. Further research is needed to identify the most effective forms of heat therapy and to investigate the benefits of heat therapy for restricting muscle wasting in the elderly and those individuals recovering from serious injury or illness.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.