The purpose of this study was to verify the effect of short-term low load strength training with skin cooling on the triceps surae bilaterally with loading. Twenty-two elderly women participated in this study and were divided into two groups, skin cooling and control. Subjects performed 30 repetitions of the exercise task cycle more than two times per week for 6 weeks. The exercise task cycle consisted of a heel raise (concentric phase) at fast speed (~1s) and a heel drop (eccentric phase) at slow speed (3s) bilaterally while standing. In the skin cooling group, cutaneous stimulation consisted of the application of 5% menthol gel to the skin above the triceps surae on both legs. MVC significantly increased in both control and skin cooling by 22.0% and 28.9%, respectively. Post intervention MVC was significantly greater in the skin cooling group than in the control group. These results suggest that short-term low load strength training with skin cooling can be an effective method for increasing muscle strength with potentially less fatigue.

  The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of constant temperature cryotherapy post total knee arthroplasty (TKA) at a temperature much higher than temperatures commonly used in treatment protocols. Two experiments were performed. In Experiment 1, surface and deep temperatures of eleven healthy males were measured every minute over a period of 30 minutes of cooling. In Experiment 2, sixteen TKA patients were assigned to two groups (Control and Intervention) and compared. The intervention consisted of constant temperature cryotherapy for 30 minutes once a day for two weeks. For about the first 10 minutes of the intervention, cryotherapy was applied at rest and then combined with exercise therapy. Surface temperature and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) were also measured, along with blood C-reactive protein (CRP) levels. In both experiments, a special device was used to maintain the temperature of a fluid, of which water was the main component, at 12 degrees centigrade. In Experiment 1, after 30 minutes of cooling, surface temperature significantly decreased by average 8.3 degrees centigrade and deep temperature significantly decreased by average 4.7 degrees centigrade. In Experiment 2, there was a trend toward a reduction in pain levels (VAS) after cooling compared with before cooling and there was also a trend toward decreased CRP levels in the Intervention group compared with Control in 7 days. The results of the present study suggest that constant temperature cryotherapy centigrade may contribute to the reduction of pain, and cooling at lower temperatures may be unnecessary.

  The present study validated the relaxation effect of hand bath and whole-body bathing to compare whether hand bath has the same relaxation effects as whole-body bathing on 18 healthy female college students. Whole-body bathing and hand bath were performed on different days. The bathing methods were conducted for 10 min with hot water (～40℃), followed by a 60-min rest period. The R-R interval, CV_R-R, HF, LF/HF, and subjective responses were measured by the Profile of Mood States 2nd Edition (POMS2; Japanese version). During whole-body bathing, the R-R interval was significantly shortened, HF values decreased, and LF/HF values increased, compared with baseline (all p < .05). After whole-body bathing, the R-R interval extended and HF values increased, but this difference was not significant. Conversely, after hand bath, the R-R interval initially extended gradually and then extended significantly while resting; the HF values initially decreased significantly at 1-5 min but then increased significantly at 11-15 min (all p < .05). The LF/HF values did not markedly change after hand bath. “Tension-anxiety” and “fatigue-inertia” scores by POMS2 decreased significantly after hand bath (all p < .05). However, these scores did not markedly change after whole-body bathing. According to the results, parasympathetic nervous system activity was enhanced during resting after hand bath, leading to a relaxation state, and it subjectively relieved mental and physical tension and reduced fatigue. However, the same effect was not observed after whole-body bathing. These results indicated that hand bath as nursing care has more relaxation effects than whole-body bathing.

  In previous studies, baseball pitching motion has been divided into the following six phases: (1) windup phase, (2) stride phase, (3) arm cocking phase, (4) arm acceleration phase, (5) arm deceleration phase, and (6) follow-through phase. Based on the findings of previous studies, this report summarizes the coordinated movements of various parts of the body and the related muscle activity in the above six phases. In addition, we focused on two sections of these six phases (between arm cocking and acceleration phases, and between arm deceleration and follow-through phases), and systematically reviewed how to prevent injuries, related to the pitching motion.