J Therm Biol - Lôbo et al. 2024 - Raw data

Athletes with tetraplegia may experience marked hyperthermia while exercising under environmental heat stress due to their limited ability to dissipate heat through evaporative means. This study investigated the effectiveness of two external cooling strategies (<i>i.e.</i>, spraying water onto the body surface or using a cooling vest) on physiological and perceptual variables in tetraplegic athletes during and after an aerobic exercise session in a hot environment. Nine male wheelchair rugby players performed an incremental test to determine their maximum aerobic power output. After that, they were subjected to three experimental trials in a counter-balanced order: control (CON, no body cooling), cooling vest (CV), and water spraying (WS). During these trials, they performed 30 min of a submaximal exercise (at 65% of their maximum aerobic power) inside an environmental chamber set to maintain the dry-bulb temperature at 32°C. The following variables were recorded at regular intervals during the exercise and for an additional 30 min following the exertion (<i>i.e.</i>, post-exercise recovery) with the participants also exposed to 32°C: body core temperature (T_CORE), skin temperature (T_SKIN), heart rate (HR), rating of perceived exertion (RPE), thermal comfort (TC), and thermal sensation (TS). While exercising in CON conditions, the tetraplegic athletes had the expected increases in T_CORE, T_SKIN, HR, RPE, and TC and TS scores. HR, TC, and TS decreased gradually toward pre-exercise values after the exercise, whereas T_CORE and T_SKIN remained stable at higher values. Using a cooling vest decreased the temperature measured only on the chest and reduced the scores of RPE, TC, and TS during and after exercise but did not influence the other physiological responses of the tetraplegic athletes. In contrast, spraying water onto the athletes’ body surface attenuated the exercise-induced increase in T_SKIN, led to lower HR values during recovery, and was also associated with better perception during and after exercise. We conclude that water spraying is more effective than the cooling vest in attenuating physiological strain induced by exercise-heat stress. However, although both external cooling strategies do not influence exercise hyperthermia, they improve the athletes’ thermal perception and reduce perceived exertion.

四肢瘫痪（tetraplegia）运动员在环境热应激下运动时，可能因蒸发散热途径受限而出现显著的高热症状。本研究探讨了两种外部降温策略——即体表喷水或使用降温背心——对热环境下有氧运动时段中及之后四肢瘫痪运动员的生理与感知指标的影响。
9名男性轮椅橄榄球运动员完成递增负荷试验以确定其最大有氧功率输出。随后，他们以平衡顺序完成3项实验处理：对照组（CON，无体表降温）、降温背心组（CV）与体表喷水组（WS）。实验期间，受试者在设定干球温度为32℃的环境舱内进行30分钟亚极量运动（运动强度为最大有氧功率的65%）。在运动期间及运动后额外30分钟（即运动后恢复期），受试者仍处于32℃环境中，期间定期记录以下指标：核心体温（T_CORE）、皮肤温度（T_SKIN）、心率（HR）、自觉用力评分（RPE）、热舒适（TC）及热感觉（TS）。
在对照组条件下运动时，四肢瘫痪运动员的核心体温、皮肤温度、心率、自觉用力评分以及热舒适和热感觉得分均出现预期升高。运动结束后，心率、热舒适与热感觉得分逐渐回落至运动前水平，而核心体温与皮肤温度仍维持在较高水平。使用降温背心仅降低了胸部的体表温度，并在运动期间及运动后降低了自觉用力评分、热舒适与热感觉得分，但未对四肢瘫痪运动员的其他生理反应产生影响。与之相反，体表喷水可减弱运动诱导的皮肤温度升高，在恢复期使心率维持在较低水平，同时改善了运动期间及之后的感知状态。
本研究得出结论：体表喷水在缓解运动热应激引发的生理负荷方面较降温背心更为有效。尽管两种外部降温策略均未对运动性高热产生影响，但二者均可改善运动员的热感知状态并降低自觉用力程度。