NCT07381920

Effects of Muscle Cooling on Motor Unit Firing of the Quadriceps

Effects of Muscle Cooling on Motor Unit Firing of the Quadriceps: A Pilot Feasibility Study

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 24 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Wake Forest University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 35 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

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.

Detailed description

This randomized, cross-over pilot study will recruit 24 healthy young adults (12 men and 12 women) between the ages of 18 and 35 years. Participants will attend two in-person laboratory visits separated by a minimum of 48 hours. Visit 1 will include informed consent, eligibility confirmation, baseline assessments, and familiarization procedures. Visit 2 will include experimental testing under thermoneutral and cooled conditions.

Conditions

• Healthy

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
PROCEDURE	Cryotherapy	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.

Timeline

• Start date: 2026-01-20
• Primary completion: 2027-05-01
• Completion: 2027-05-01
• First posted: 2026-02-02
• Last updated: 2026-02-27

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States