Introduction: The aim of the present work was to perform a meta-analysis evaluating the impact of recovery techniques on delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), perceived fatigue, muscle damage, and inflammatory markers after physical exercise. Method: Three databases including PubMed, Embase, and Web-of-Science were searched using the following terms: (“recovery” or “active recovery” or “cooling” or “massage” or “compression garment” or “electrostimulation” or “stretching” or “immersion” or “cryotherapy”) and (“DOMS” or “perceived fatigue” or “CK” or “CRP” or “IL-6”) and (“after exercise” or “post-exercise”) for randomized controlled trials, crossover trials, and repeated-measure studies. Overall, 99 studies were included. Results: Active recovery, massage, compression garments, immersion, contrast water therapy, and cryotherapy induced a small to large decrease (−2.26 < g < −0.40) in the magnitude of DOMS, while there was no change for the other methods. Massage was found to be the most powerful technique for recovering from DOMS and fatigue. In terms of muscle damage and inflammatory markers, we observed an overall moderate decrease in creatine kinase [SMD (95% CI) = −0.37 (−0.58 to −0.16), I² = 40.15%] and overall small decreases in interleukin-6 [SMD (95% CI) = −0.36 (−0.60 to −0.12), I² = 0%] and C-reactive protein [SMD (95% CI) = −0.38 (−0.59 to−0.14), I² = 39%]. The most powerful techniques for reducing inflammation were massage and cold exposure. Conclusion: Massage seems to be the most effective method for reducing DOMS and perceived fatigue. Perceived fatigue can be effectively managed using compression techniques, such as compression garments, massage, or water immersion.

Objectives: To study the effects of physical stimulation based on walking exercises, equilibrium and endurance on cognitive function and walking efficiency in patients with dementia. Methods: Randomized controlled trial including 31 subjects suffering from dementia (age: 81.8 ± 5.3 years). The intervention group (n = 16) benefited from a 15-week physical activity programme involving three 1-hour sessions per week. The control group (n = 15) did not practice any physical activities. Before and after rehabilitation, all subjects were evaluated with the Rapid Evaluation of Cognitive Functions test (ERFC French version) and walking analysis. Results: After the 15 weeks of rehabilitation, the subjects from the intervention group improved their overall ERFC score (p < 0.01), while those in the control group decreased their overall ERFC score. Interactions were also observed between walking parameters and groups (p < 0.01); the intervention group improved walking capacities through heightened walking speed, stride length and a reduction in double limb support time. Lastly, the subjects from the control group presented a reduction in both walking speed and stride length. Conclusion: This study shows that a physical activity programme can slow cognitive decline and improve quality of walking in elderly persons suffering from dementia.

Objective. Cold therapy is used to relieve pain and inflammatory symptoms. The present study was designed to determine the influence of long‐term regular exposure to acute cold temperature. Two types of exposure were studied: winter swimming in ice‐cold water and whole‐body cryotherapy. The outcome was investigated on humoral factors that may account for pain alleviation related to the exposures. Material and methods. During the course of 12 weeks, 3 times a week, a group of healthy females (n = 10) was exposed to winter swimming (water 0–2°C) for 20 s and another group (n = 10) to whole‐body cryotherapy (air −110°C) for 2 min in a special chamber. Blood specimens were drawn in weeks 1, 2, 4, 8 and 12, on a day when no cold exposure occurred (control specimens) and on a day of cold exposures (cold specimens) before the exposures (0 min), and thereafter at 5 and 35 min. Results. Plasma ACTH and cortisol in weeks 4–12 on time‐points 35 min were significantly lower than in week 1, probably due to habituation, suggesting that neither winter swimming nor whole‐body cryotherapy stimulated the pituitary‐adrenal cortex axis. Plasma epinephrine was unchanged during both experiments, but norepinephrine showed significant 2‐fold to 3‐fold increases each time for 12 weeks after both cold exposures. Plasma IL‐1‐beta, IL‐6 or TNFα did not show any changes after cold exposure. Conclusions. The main finding was the sustained cold‐induced stimulation of norepinephrine, which was remarkably similar between exposures. The frequent increase in norepinephrine might have a role in pain alleviation in whole‐body cryotherapy and winter swimming.

Objective: To carry out meta-analyses on psychotropic drugs and to provide an update of the risk of falling in the elderly people related to psychotropic drugs. Design: Meta-analyses of studies on psychotropic drugs. Results: 177 studies are included, of which 71 have data on risk factors associated with psychotropic drugs. The odds ratio and 95% Cl for associations between use of psychotropic drugs and fall are 1.78 and 1.57-2.01, respectively. This result is statistically heterogeneous. This heterogeneity disappears in the group of very old participants for each class. Conclusion: Our study confirms the association between falls in the elderly people and psychotropic drugs. These results are similar to those of former meta-analyses but with different methods. It shows that these meta-analyses on psychotropic drugs have a small impact on prescribing habits. They only give evidence to support the association between psychotropic drugs and falls even if there is no proven link.