Date of Award:

5-1975

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Science (MS)

Department:

Kinesiology and Health Science

Department name when degree awarded

Health, Physical Education, and Recreation

Committee Chair(s)

Lanny J. Nalder

Committee

Lanny J. Nalder

Committee

Lucille Chase

Committee

Leon Beutler

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of cryotherapy versus no treatment in preventing blistering and tearing of the hands of twenty-six male college age gymnastics students at Utah State University.

The subjects were tested with a hand dynamometer to determine differences in grip strength between right and left hands. Two groups of thirteen subjects each were formed to equalize the differences in grip strength.

During the experimental period of four class sessions totaling two hours, subjects participated in various activities on the horizontal bar, parallel bars, and rings which required simultaneous gripping by both hands. Whenever a subject experienced a burning sensation in the skin of his hands, he went immediately to in ice water bath (100 C) and soaked one hand for thirty seconds. One group treated only the stronger hand, while the other group treated only the weaker hard. After treatment, the hand was dried and workout continued.

When the skin tore on a subject's hand, he reported to the recorder and treated the tear by carefully trimming away all the loose skin. He was also encouraged to apply a disinfectant. The tear was measured and given a classification as to whether it was a 1st, 2nd, or 2rd degree tear, with a corresponding weighted value. Training continued unless the tear was serious.

The data was subjected to the t distribution test for significance to determine whether the cryotherapy was successful in preventing tearing of the skin on the treated hand. The results of the t test indicated a significant reduction in the amount of tearing that occurred on the treated hands of the subjects. Results of the t test for two sample means showed that there was no significant difference whether a subject treated the weaker hand or the stronger hand at the .05 level of significance.

Checksum

84711444eb4dd7bde7353682eba695d4

Download

Share

COinS

Copyright for this work is retained by the student. If you have any questions regarding the inclusion of this work in the Digital Commons, please email us at .