Ultrasound treatment does not affect postexercise muscle strength recovery or soreness

Ten volunteers (19-23 years old) performed 9 sets of 12 bilateral knee-extension exercises at 60% 1RM. Following exercise, 4 ultrasound treatments (5-cm transducer head, 1.0-MHz frequency, pulsed mode at 1.0 W/cm(2)) were applied for 8 min daily to the quadriceps muscle of a randomly selected treatment leg. The placebo leg received similar treatment with the ultrasound apparatus turned off. Knee-extension peak torque values and delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) were assessed on each leg prior to exercise and at 20 min and 24, 48, 72, and 96 hr postexercise. Postexercise peak torques declined to 60-70% of preexercise values and returned to normal by 96 hr. DOMS sensation peaked 24 hr postexercise and diminished thereafter. No significant differences in peak torque or DOMS were noted between ultrasound- or placebo-treated legs at any time postexercise. Hence ultrasound, as applied in this study, does not appear to be effective in enhancing postexercise muscle strength recovery or in diminishing DOMS.