Palm Cooling versus Neck Cooling for Heat Mitigation in Sports Performance
For athletes competing in hot environments, it is common to place a cold towel around the neck as a means to cool down. While research shows that neck cooling improves comfort which can improve performance, this technique does not appear to impact physiological markers associated with improved performance.
Another cooling method known as palm cooling has been shown to be an effective intervention for improving performance because it not only provides a sense of relief, it also impacts core temperature, heart rate, and physiological markers. Specifically, palm cooling has been shown to extend work capacity in the heat, lower heart rate, and reduce lactate levels.
Below are relevant studies covering neck and palm cooling.
- Effects of Intermittent Neck Cooling During Repeated Bouts of High-Intensity Exercise1: This study showed that ice on the neck made participants feel cooler and less exerted, but did not alter cardiovascular or metabolic function, nor was time to exhaustion altered.
- Practical neck cooling and time-trial running performance in a hot environment2: This study showed that neck cooling did improve performance when thermal strain was a factor, however, it had no effect on core temperature, heart rate, or RPE.
- Effectiveness of a Commercial Head-Neck Cooling Device3: This study showed a neck cooling device did not impact physiologic and psychometric measures of thermoregulation during a 30 minute cycle ergometer test at ~60% VO2Max.
- Heat extraction via palm improves aerobic exercise endurance in a hot environment4: In this study, participants walked on an incline treadmill in a 41.5°C room. Palm cooling attenuated core body temperature rise and significantly extended work capacity.
- Heat Loss Through the Glabrous Skin of Heavily Insulated, Heat-Stressed Individuals5: This study demonstrated a significant effect of palm cooling on core temperature reduction when participants were exercised to feverish temperatures.
- Use of Gloves to Examine Intermittent Palm Cooling's Impact on Rowing Ergometry6: In this study, participants performed an intense rowing protocol with and without cooling. Intermittent cooling resulted in lower heart rates and blood lactate concentrations, and greater work capacity (rowed further).
Research Referenced
- Galpin AJ, Bagley JR, Whitcomb B, Wiersma LD, Rosengarten J, Coburn JW, Judelson DA. Effects of Intermittent Neck Cooling During Repeated Bouts of High-Intensity Exercise. Sports (Basel). 2016 Jun 29;4(3):38. doi: 10.3390/sports4030038. PMID: 29910286; PMCID: PMC5968886.
- Tyler, C.J., Wild, P. & Sunderland, C. Practical neck cooling and time-trial running performance in a hot environment. Eur J Appl Physiol 110, 1063–1074 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-010-1567-7
- BULBULIAN, RONALD1; SHAPIRO, ROBERT2; MURPHY, MARTHA2; LEVENHAGEN, DEANNA2. Effectiveness of a Commercial Head-Neck Cooling Device. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 13(3):p 198-205, August 1999.
- Grahn DA, Cao VH, Heller HC. Heat extraction through the palm of one hand improves aerobic exercise endurance in a hot environment. J Appl Physiol (1985). 2005 Sep;99(3):972-8. doi: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00093.2005. Epub 2005 May 5. PMID: 15879169.
- Grahn DA, Dillon JL, Heller HC. Heat loss through the glabrous skin surfaces of heavily insulated, heat-stressed individuals. J Biomech Eng. 2009 Jul;131(7):071005. doi: 10.1115/1.3156812. PMID: 19640130.
- O'Brien IT, Kozerski AE, Gray WD, Chen L, Vargas LJ, McEnroe CB, Vanhoover AC, King KM, Pantalos GM, Caruso JF. Use of Gloves to Examine Intermittent Palm Cooling's Impact on Rowing Ergometry. J Strength Cond Res. 2021 Apr 1;35(4):931-940. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000003561. PMID: 33629973.
