A single bout of cryotherapy does not alter the transcriptome of metabolome of human skeletal muscle

Cryotherapy is a commonly used therapeutic modality for skeletal muscle injuries in sports medicine. Despite the widespread use of this modality, there is little known about the biochemical effects of cryotherapy in skeletal muscle tissue of humans. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of cryotherapy on the transcriptome of human skeletal muscle. Using a paired design, 8 healthy male subjects (age 24.7±4.5 years, BMI 22.2±1.6) received ice-cup massage or sham cup massage over a 45 cm2 area on each thigh for 15 min. Two hours after application, bilateral biopsies were taken at a depth of 2 cm from the vastus lateralis in the center of the ice or sham area. Muscle biopsies were from each leg were then subjected to microarray analysis. Each of the 8 healthy male subjects received ice-cup and sham application over a 45 cm2 area on separate thighs for 15 min. Bilateral biopsies were taken from the Vastus Lateralis in the center of the ice or sham area 2 hours after application. Differences between groups were tested using t-tests corrected for multiple comparisons.