Professional tennis players experienced an intensified inflammatory response after the completed tournament season, which may lead to overreaching. Applying whole-body cryostimulation in conjunction with moderate-intensity training was more effective for the recovery process than the training itself. The 5-day exposure to cryostimulation twice a day ameliorated the cytokine profile, resulting in a decrease in tumor necrosis factor α and an increase in interleukin 6.

Nowadays, whole-body cryotherapy is a medical physical treatment widely used in sports medicine. Recovery from injuries (e.g., trauma, overuse) and after-season recovery are the main purposes for application. However, the most recent studies confirmed the anti-inflammatory, anti-analgesic, and anti-oxidant effects of this therapy by highlighting the underlying physiological responses. In addition to its therapeutic effects, whole-body cryotherapy has been demonstrated to be a preventive strategy against the deleterious effects of exercise-induced inflammation and soreness. Novel findings have stressed the importance of fat mass on cooling effectiveness and of the starting fitness level on the final result. Exposure to the cryotherapy somehow mimics exercise, since it affects myokines expression in an exercise-like fashion, thus opening another possible window on the therapeutic strategies for metabolic diseases such as obesity and type 2 diabetes. From a biochemical point of view, whole-body cryotherapy not always induces appreciable modifications, but the final clinical output (in terms of pain, soreness, stress, and post-exercise recovery) is very often improved compared to either the starting condition or the untreated matched group. Also, the number and the frequency of sessions that should be applied in order to obtain the best therapeutic results have been deeply investigated in the last years. In this article, we reviewed the most recent literature, from 2010 until present, in order to give the most updated insight into this therapeutic strategy, whose rapidly increasing use is not always based on scientific assumptions and safety standards.

Exercise perturbs homeostasis, alters the levels of circulating mediators and hormones, and increases the demand by skeletal muscles and other vital organs for energy substrates. Exercise also affects bone and mineral metabolism, particularly calcium and phosphate, both of which are essential for muscle contraction, neuromuscular signaling, biosynthesis of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), and other energy substrates. Parathyroid hormone (PTH) is involved in the regulation of calcium and phosphate homeostasis. Understanding the effects of exercise on PTH secretion is fundamental for appreciating how the body adapts to exercise. Altered PTH metabolism underlies hyperparathyroidism and hypoparathyroidism, the complications of which affect the organs involved in calcium and phosphorous metabolism (bone and kidney) and other body systems as well. Exercise affects PTH expression and secretion by altering the circulating levels of calcium and phosphate. In turn, PTH responds directly to exercise and exercise-induced myokines. Here, we review the main concepts of the regulation of PTH expression and secretion under physiological conditions, in acute and chronic exercise, and in relation to PTH-related disorders.

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We investigated the aerobic and anaerobic benefits of high-intensity interval training performed at a work-to-rest ratio of 1:2 because little performance enhancement data exist based on this ratio. Recreationally active male volunteers (21 years, 184 cm, 81.5 kg) were randomly assigned to a training (interval training [IT] n = 10) or control group (n = 11). Baseline assessments were repeated after the last training session. Each participant underwent basic anthropometric assessment and performed a VO2max test on an electronically braked cycle ergometer and a 30-second Wingate test. Venous samples were acquired at the antecubital vein and subsequently processed for lactate (LA); samples were obtained at rest, and 5 and 15-minute post-Wingate test. The interval training used a cycling power output equivalent to 80% of VO2max (80% p VO2max) applied for 6 90-second bouts (each followed by 180-second rest) per session, 3 sessions per week, for 6 weeks. The control group maintained their normal routine for the 6-week period. Group × time repeated-measures analyses of variance revealed that IT improved VO2max (5.5 ml · kg(-1) · min), anaerobic threshold (3.8 ml · kg(-1) · min), work output (12.5 J · kg(-1)), glycolytic work (11.5 J · kg(-1)), mean power (0.3 W · kg), peak power (0.4 W · kg(-1)), and max power (0.4 W · kg(-1)); p < 0.05. Posttesting LA was lower on average for IT at the 5-minute mark but significantly so at the 15-minute mark. Twenty-seven minutes of cycling at 80% p VO2max applied with a work-to-rest ratio of 1:2 and spread over 3 sessions per week for 6 weeks provided sufficient stimulus to significantly improve markers of anaerobic and aerobic performance in recreationally active college-aged men. Inclusion of such a protocol into a training program may rapidly restore or improve a client's or athlete's maximal functional capacity.