Introduction:

Cryotherapy is used to treat acute joint inflammation, but its effect on muscles associated with the injured joint has not yet been studied.

Objective:

To evaluate the effect of cryotherapy on the tibiotarsal joint in the cross-sectional area (CSA) of tibialis anterior (TA) and soleus muscles in rats with acute joint inflammation.

Materials and methods:

Experimental study conducted on 32 Wistar rats that were randomly assigned to four groups: Control, Inflammation, Cryotherapy-A and Cryotherapy-B. The CSA of muscle fibers was measured 72 hours after initiating the experiment.

Results:

In the case of the TA muscle, there was a significant reduction in the CSA muscle fibers in the Inflammation and Cryotherapy-B groups compared to the Control group, while no significant reduction was observed in the Cryotherapy-A group in relation to the Control group. Regarding the soleus muscle, a significant CSA reduction was observed in all experimental groups.

Conclusion:

The use of cryotherapy once a day for three days attenuates the atrophic effect of acute joint inflammation on the TA muscle, confirming its importance for controlling the deleterious effects of acute inflammation on fast-twitch muscles.

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