Cohort study2017

Cold-Water Immersion Cooling Rates in Football Linemen and Cross-Country Runners With Exercise-Induced Hyperthermia

Godek SF, Morrison KE, Scullin G

Journal of athletic training · 7 citations

Review labels

Funding not disclosed

Neutral facts our review recorded about how this study was done. They describe method, never whether we like the result.

How it was studied

Design
Cohort study (indexed by PubMed)
Studied in
People
Main outcome
Health markers and function

Who paid for it

Funding
Funding not disclosed

Publication

Published
2017-09-22 · J Athl Train · vol. 52 · issue 10 · pp. 902–909
Publisher
National Athletic Trainers' Association
Cited
12 citations · more than 64% of similar papers · 0.4× the field average
References
46 works
Access
Open access (repository copy)
Research areas
Thermoregulation and physiological responses · Climate Change and Health Impacts · Infrared Thermography in Medicine
Keywords
Context (archaeology), Animal science, Lean body mass, Athletes, Body mass index, Body surface area, Medicine, Physical therapy, Surgery, Body weight, Internal medicine, Biology
MeSH
humans, fever, water, cohort studies, immersion, body temperature regulation, running, football, adult, female, male, cold temperature, young adult

3 authors

From US

  • Sandra Fowkes GodekWest Chester University
  • Katherine E. MorrisonWest Chester University
  • Gregory ScullinLehigh University

Abstract

Context

Ideal and acceptable cooling rates in hyperthermic athletes have been established in average-sized participants. Football linemen (FBs) have a small body surface area (BSA)-to-mass ratio compared with smaller athletes, which hinders heat dissipation.

Objective

To determine cooling rates using cold-water immersion in hyperthermic FBs and cross-country runners (CCs).

Design

Cohort study.

Setting

Controlled university laboratory.

Patients or other participants

Nine FBs (age = 21.7 ± 1.7 years, height = 188.7 ± 4 cm, mass = 128.1 ± 18 kg, body fat = 28.9% ± 7.1%, lean body mass [LBM] = 86.9 ± 19 kg, BSA = 2.54 ± 0.13 m2, BSA/mass = 201 ± 21.3 cm2/kg, and BSA/LBM = 276.4 ± 19.7 cm2/kg) and 7 CCs (age = 20 ± 1.8 years, height = 176 ± 4.1 cm, mass = 68.7 ± 6.5 kg, body fat = 10.2% ± 1.6%, LBM = 61.7 ± 5.3 kg, BSA = 1.84 ± 0.1 m2, BSA/mass = 268.3 ± 11.7 cm2/kg, and BSA/LBM = 298.4 ± 11.7 cm2/kg).

Intervention(s)

Participants ingested an intestinal sensor, exercised in a climatic chamber (39°C, 40% relative humidity) until either target core temperature (Tgi) was 39.5°C or volitional exhaustion was reached, and were immediately immersed in a 10°C circulated bath until Tgi declined to 37.5°C. A general linear model repeated-measures analysis of variance and independent t tests were calculated, with P < .05.

Main outcome measure(s)

Physical characteristics, maximal Tgi, time to reach 37.5°C, and cooling rate.

Results

Physical characteristics were different between groups. No differences existed in environmental measures or maximal Tgi (FBs = 39.12°C ± 0.39°C, CCs = 39.38°C ± 0.19°C; P = .12). Cooling times required to reach 37.5°C (FBs = 11.4 ± 4 minutes, CCs = 7.7 ± 0.06 minutes; P -1 ± 0.06°C·min-1, CCs = .255°C·min-1 ± 0.05°C·min-1; P < .002) were different. Strong correlations were found between cooling rate and body mass (r = -0.76, P < .001), total BSA (r = -0.74, P < .001), BSA/mass (r = 0.73, P < .001), LBM/mass (r = 0.72, P < .002), and LBM (r = -0.72, P < .002).

Conclusions

With cold-water immersion, the cooling rate in CCs (0.255°C·min-1) was greater than in FBs (0.156°C·min-1); however, both were considered ideal (≥0.155°C·min-1). Athletic trainers should realize that it likely takes considerably longer to cool large hyperthermic American-football players (>11 minutes) than smaller, leaner athletes (7.7 minutes). Cooling rates varied widely from 0.332°C·min-1 in a small runner to only 0.101°C·min-1 in a lineman, supporting the use of rectal temperature for monitoring during cooling.

Abstract via Europe PMC. Copyright remains with the authors or publisher.

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