Effet of heat and cold application on knee propriception

Background Data and Purpose: Proprioception can be defined as perception of joints and parts of body with affecting force and movements by central nervous system; and then producing the motor response according to the new situation to eliminate the injury. It is known bandaging, bracing, muscle fatique, exercises and surgery can affect the proprioception. Little is known about the effect of heat and cold application on proprioceptive capability. Purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of cold and heat application on knee proprioception in normal volunteers.Materials and Methods: 13 women, 14 men, total 27 volunteers with normal knees whose right side dominant and with ages averaged between 19 and 28 (av. 22.2 ± 2.5) were included in the study. All volunteers were student in High School of Physical Education and Sports. Proprioceptive level was measured before application of heat and cold on both knees. Then heat and ice application were done with one week interval and same measurements were done again. The technique of joint position sense was choosed for proprioceptive measurements and a goniometer in one degree sensitivity was used for this purpose. Statistical analysis were done by using Mann-Whitney U, Wilcoxon Signed Ranks, T-test and Pearson Correlation tests.Results: Proprioceptive capability significantly improved after heat application especially in further flexion angles of the knee. Cold application deteriorated the knee proprioception in all flexion angles. Effects of heat and cold application on proprioceptive capability were observed to be more evident in men and non dominant sides.Conclusion: Results of this study showed that heat application improves, but cold application deteriorates knee proprioception which differs in gender and dominant-nondominant sides in normal volunteers. These findings should be considered for prevention and treatment of sports injuries.Key Words: Proprioception, Heat, Cold, Sports, Injuries