Effects of Muscle Cooling on Motor Unit Firing of the Quadriceps

Part of paid clinical trials in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Sponsor
Wake Forest University
Study ID
NCT07381920
Status
Recruiting
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Conditions

  • Healthy

Eligibility Criteria

Sex
ALL
Age
18 Years - 35 Years
Healthy Volunteers
Accepted

Interventions

  • Cryotherapy — PROCEDURE
    For the cold condition, an Aircast Thigh Pad (Aircast), connected to the Cryo Cuff IC cooler (DJO Global, Vista, California, USA) will be applied to the dominant thigh. The system circulates ice water maintained at approximately 10-15°C with intermittent compression. Cooling duration will be individualized based on mid-thigh skinfold thickness, consistent with published recommendations that account for the effect of subcutaneous tissue on intramuscular cooling9. Participants with a mid-thigh skinfold thickness of 0-10 mm will receive 10 minutes of cooling; those with a skinfold thickness of 11-20 mm will receive 25 minutes of cooling; those with a skinfold thickness of 21-30 mm will receive 40 minutes of cooling; and those with a skinfold thickness of 31-40 mm will receive 60 minutes of cooling. Participants will remain seated for the duration of the cooling treatment.

Study Details

The overall objective of this pilot study is to establish the feasibility and methodological validity of using high-density surface electromyography to characterize motor unit behavior of the quadriceps under thermoneutral and locally cooled conditions, and to generate preliminary data to inform the design of a larger, hypothesis-driven study.

Key Dates

Start date
Jan 20, 2026
Status verified
Feb 2026
Primary completion
May 31, 2027
Completion
May 31, 2027

Study Design

Enrollment
24 participants (estimated)
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
CROSSOVER
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE

Arms

  • Experimental: Sequence A
    Those randomized to Group A (n=12, 50% men) will perform the thermoneutral condition first, followed by the cooled condition.
  • Experimental: Sequence B
    Those randomized to Group B (n=12, 50% men) will perform the cooled condition first, followed by the thermoneutral condition.

Primary Outcome Measure

Motor Unit (MU) Yield [ Time Frame: Immediately after the intervention ]

Central Contacts

Locations (1)

FacilityCityStateZIPSite coordinators
Department of Health and Exercise Science at Wake Forest UniversityWinston-SalemNorth Carolina27109
Eliott Arroyo, PhD
[email protected]
336-758-5847

Find similar trials in Winston-Salem, NC

By research site
Department of Health and Exercise Science at Wake Forest University· Winston-Salem, NC

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