Effects of Cryotherapy on Neuromuscular Control and Athletic Performance in Basketball Players: A Randomized Crossover Study

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-553-9_52How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Cryotherapy; Basketball performance; Neuromuscular control; Reaction time; Balance; Fatigue; Recovery

Abstract

This study investigated the acute effects of ankle cryotherapy on physiological responses, neuromuscular control, and athletic performance in high school basketball players under real-game conditions. Ten players (five male, five female) participated in a crossover design, alternating between a cryotherapy condition (10-minute ankle ice application) and a control condition. Results showed that cryotherapy did not significantly alter heart rate compared with control, though a faster recovery trend was observed. Neuromuscular assessments revealed that cryotherapy was associated with reduced single-leg balance, slower reaction time (p = 0.02), and decreased agility, suggesting temporary impairment of proprioceptive and motor responsiveness. In real-game performance, players in the cryotherapy condition recorded fewer baskets and dribble actions compared with the control condition, while defensive measures such as steals remained unaffected. Subjective ratings indicated that cryotherapy did not reduce soreness or fatigue and was linked to a slight increase in immediate post-game discomfort. Overall, findings suggest that while cryotherapy may aid autonomic recovery, its application immediately before activity can transiently impair neuromuscular control and offensive performance in basketball.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - DeEn Zhu
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/03/25
TI  - Effects of Cryotherapy on Neuromuscular Control and Athletic Performance in Basketball Players: A Randomized Crossover Study
BT  - Proceedings of the 2025 4th International Conference on Educational Science and Social Culture (ESSC 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 457
EP  - 469
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-553-9_52
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-553-9_52
ID  - Zhu2026
ER  -