EFFECT OF INFRARED EMITTING GARMENTS ON RECOVERY FOLLOWING MUSCLE-DAMAGING EXERCISE

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate whether prolonged application of far-infrared emitting ceramic (cFIR) garments would enhance recovery of muscle function and alleviate markers of muscle damage following exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD) in a physically active, non- elite population. Methods: Nine participants were randomly assigned to either a cFIR or control sham (SHAM) garment condition following a muscle-damaging protocol consisting of 100 drop jumps. Participants wore the garments for 72h post-exercise. Maximal voluntary isometric contractions (MVC) of knee-extensions, countermovement jump height (CMJ), reactive strength index (RSI), sprint performance, perceived muscle soreness (PMS), pain pressure threshold (PPT), and total leukocyte count were measured at baseline, 1h, 24h, 48h, and 72h post-exercise. Results: MVC recovered to baseline levels in the cFIR group at 72h (5.4±6.9%; P=1.000; ES=0.79), significantly faster compared to the SHAM group, which did not recover to baseline (-20.9±7.1%; P=0.005; ES=3.78), this was different between groups (P=0.005; ES=3.78). However, there were no significant differences between groups in CMJ, RSI, sprint performance, PMS, PPT, or total leukocyte count at any time point. Conclusions: Prolonged application of cFIR garments (approximately 16h daily for 3 days) significantly enhanced the recovery of force-generating capacity (MVC) following EIMD compared to a SHAM condition. However, the cFIR garments did not significantly impact other performance measures or markers of muscle soreness and inflammation. These findings suggest that cFIR garments may be a practical tool for accelerating muscle recovery in physically active, non-elite individuals, although further research is needed to confirm these effects.