Hing Wayne A, White Steven G, Bouaaphone Anousith, Lee Peter
Health & Rehabilitation Research Centre, AUT University, Private Bag 92006, Auckland 1142, New Zealand.
Phys Ther Sport. 2008 Aug;9(3):148-61. doi: 10.1016/j.ptsp.2008.06.001. Epub 2008 Jul 22.
Contrast therapy is a strategy that is widely utilised in a number of sporting codes to aid recovery. This wide use might suggest that contrast therapy is an effective recovery modality however support for this assumption appears to be mainly anecdotal. The purpose of this paper is to review the efficacy of contrast therapy. To achieve this objective, a systematic review of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that have specifically evaluated the therapeutic efficacy of contrast therapy was performed. A search to identify appropriate literature was conducted across a number of electronic databases. The titles and abstracts of the papers identified were reviewed to select papers specifically relating to contrast therapy. Twelve RCTs met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The PEDro Scale, a systematic tool used to critique RCTs, was employed to critique the methodological quality of these studies. This review highlights both the lack in quantity and quality of research regarding the efficacy of contrast therapy for sports recovery. There appears to be insufficient evidence that contrast therapy aids in recovery and the limited methodological quality of the reviewed studies makes it difficult to draw clear conclusions about this form of therapy. Future research needs to re-examine the use of contrast therapy and in particular whole body immersion recovery strategies within the appropriate sports setting. This research will need to be of sufficient quality to enable appropriate conclusions to be made with regards to its use as a recovery strategy.
对比疗法是一种在许多体育项目中广泛应用以促进恢复的策略。这种广泛应用可能表明对比疗法是一种有效的恢复方式，然而，对这一假设的支持似乎主要是传闻。本文的目的是综述对比疗法的疗效。为实现这一目标，对专门评估对比疗法治疗效果的随机对照试验（RCT）进行了系统评价。在多个电子数据库中进行了检索以识别合适的文献。对所识别论文的标题和摘要进行了审查，以挑选出与对比疗法具体相关的论文。12项随机对照试验符合纳入和排除标准。使用PEDro量表（一种用于评判随机对照试验的系统工具）来评判这些研究的方法学质量。本综述强调了关于对比疗法对运动恢复疗效的研究在数量和质量上的不足。似乎没有足够的证据表明对比疗法有助于恢复，且所审查研究有限的方法学质量使得难以就这种治疗形式得出明确结论。未来的研究需要重新审视对比疗法的应用，尤其是在适当的运动环境中的全身浸入式恢复策略。这项研究需要具备足够的质量，以便能够就其作为一种恢复策略的应用得出适当的结论。
