Background and Objectives: Cryotherapy is often used as an immediate treatment method to relieve acute pain of soft tissue injuries. The current study aimed to investigate the direct effect of Quadriceps muscles cooling with ice spray on plantar pressure variables during stance phase of running in male soccer players.Subjects and Methods: Seventeen healthy male soccer players with mean age of 23.7±3.3 years were recruited to participate in this study. Data were collected using a foot scan pressure-sensitive floor mat (RsScan International Footscan®) which was flush mounted in the 10th m of a 15 m-long walkway. The software divided the foot into 10 separate anatomical regions. Participants were instructed to run before and after cryotherapy, which was established following a warm-up period from three trials along a 15 m walkway. After pretest, the subjects were asked to lie down in a supine position, and ice spray was used for cryotherapy.Results: Significant increases in peak plantar pressure variables of toe (P=0.003) and first metatarsal areas (P<0.043) of foot were observed after cryotherapy during stance phase of running.Conclusion: The results suggest that cryotherapy during sporting events such as running may place the individuals in a vulnerable injurious position.

AbstractBackground: Weakness of the gluteus muscle is associated with multiple types of injuries such as low back, hip and knee pathology. However, there is no research regarding the effect of gluteal isometric exercises on abdominals, back extensors and Quadriceps muscles strength. Hence, this study aimed to demonstrate the effect of gluteal isometric exercises on abdominals, back extensors and Quadriceps strength. Methods: A total of 100 healthy students aged between 18 and 25 years were recruited to participate in an 8-week program of gluteal muscle isometric exercises. The strength of the abdominal, back extensor, and Quadriceps muscles was assessed both at baseline and after the 8-week intervention period.Results: A paired sample t-test revealed significant improvements in abdominal muscles, back extensor muscle strength (p<0.001), and Quadriceps muscle strength (p=0.037) after an 8-week intervention. The greatest increases were observed in the abdominals (59.05%), back extensors (46.78%), and Quadriceps (7.13%). Conclusion: This study demonstrates that gluteal isometric exercises had a significant positive effect on the strength of abdominals, back extensors and Quadriceps muscles.

The purpose of this study was to determine the force of each component of the Quadriceps muscles groupin different exercises and to determine the activity ratio of vastus medialis to vastus lateralis. For thispurpose, a 3-D model of the whole body was formed in the AnyBody Modeling System software. Thismodel that had muscle only in the legs was sitting on the chair and was performed knee extension.Muscular modeling in this study was achieved by using a simple model of the muscles. After creating anduploading model in the software, inverse dynamic analysis carried out, and the force and activity of eachQuadriceps muscle component was obtained. The model was tested in three different conditions: (1) Notloading, (2) static training with maximum loading, (3) normal loading. Then the force and activity of eachQuadriceps muscles were examined in gait test. To do this, walking in AnyBody model was used. In eachof these conditions, the force of each Quadriceps muscle component and activity ratio of vastus medialisto vastus lateralis was calculated. According to the results, the rectus femoris muscle in not loading modehad the highest value (28%) in creating force. In the static, normal loading and walking conditions,vastus lateralis had the highest value in creating force that were 38%, 42% and 40%, respectively. Theactivity ratio of the vastus medialis to vastus lateralis in static training, normal loading and gait conditionswere 0.92, 0.85 and 0.87 respectively which in static training had the highest value. The results showedthat the force and activity charts of the vastus medialis, vastus lateralis and vastus intermedius hadexactly similar pattern and they were different from the force and activity charts of rectus femoris muscle.In total, it seems that the results are acceptable in some analysis and are not in accordance with previousresults in some others (i.e. not loading condition). Therefore, it is necessary to verify and assess theoutputs after modeling in this software.

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Background and Objective : An excitatory pathway is reported to link the pretibial muscles to Quadriceps motoneurones. It has been suggested that the interneurones in this reflex pathway relay the supraspinal inputs to Quadriceps motoneurones. This may suggest an important role of this neural pathway in the motor control of knee during activities such as walking. In this regard, the pattern of modulation of this short latency reflex was investigated in normal subjects during walking in order to find its role in the motor control of Quadriceps muscles. Materials and Methods: The reflex was elicited in 12 subjects by stimuli applied to common peroneal nerve at several points of gait cycle during walking on treadmill. The reflex magnitude and the intensity of the contraction were calculated from the surface EMG recorded in vastus medialis, rectus femoris and tibialis anterior and was normalized as the percentage of the maximum voluntary contraction in related muscles. Results : The reflex showed the significant correlation with the intensity of contraction in Quadriceps, mainly during the early stance phase. The correlation was weak during transition period from stance to swing, where rectus femoris showed a small peak of activity in half of the subjects and it was not accompanied by any reflex. The average peak activity in tibialis anterior was 69 ms preceded that of Quadriceps. Conclusion : The precedence of activity in anterior tibial muscle and the strong presence of the reflex during the early stance phase may indicate a positive feed-forward effect from ankle dorsiflexor afferents to Quadriceps muscle. Stimulation and activation of this neural connection may have clinical application in the improvement of the motor control of Quadriceps muscles as an antigravity muscle in patients with gait disorders.

The main purpose of the present study is a comparison of the effects of two kinds of resistance exercise on the maximum strength of the Quadriceps and pectoralis major muscles. The subjects of the study were 45 non-athlete, university male students (mean age: 18.5±0.64, 70±10 Kg, 173±5.7 cm) voluntreered to be tested.They were divided into three equal groups of 15 randomly. The name given to them were: a) Mac- Cloys, b) Delorme-Watkinz and c) Control group.Training groups (a) and (b) performed their specific training program for four days a week for 6 weeks. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) test indicated that maximum strength remarkably increased in training groups (a) and (b). Mac-Cloy group was even more than Delorme-Watkinz group (P<0.05). But there were significant differences between training methods and increment of maximum strength in pectoralis major muscle. The testing of other hypotheses indicated that there are no significant differences among the different groups of the study.

Background and Aim: Impairments of joint proprioception make the joints prone to injury. It has been suggested that stretching exercises can cause changes in properties of the joint receptors, thereby alter the sensibility of the joints proprioceptors. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of dynamic stretching of muscles surrounding the knee on the knee joint position sense in college football players.Materials and Methods: 30 college football players (mean age, 23.20 ± 1.45years) participated in this study. A 5 min warm up was performed before stretching followed by measuring knee joint position sense in dominant knee as pre-test record. Post test record was performed immediately after dynamic stretching of elected muscles.Results: There was significant difference (p=0.04) in pre- and post-stretch on knee joint position sense. The absolute angular error decreased significantly after the stretching protocol (2.38±1.48 vs.3.11±1.52).Conclusion: A dynamic stretch regimen improved the accuracy of the knee joint position sense in 45˚of flexion in college football players.