Palmar Cooling for Fatigue

Age: 18 - 65

Sex: Any

Trial Phase: Phase < 1

Sponsor: University of Mississippi Medical Center

Disqualifiers: Injury, Illness, Palmar device use

Compensation: Varies

Number of Visits: 2

Duration: 1 day

90 Participants Needed

Trial Summary

Do I have to stop taking my current medications for the trial?

The trial protocol does not specify whether you need to stop taking your current medications.

Will I have to stop taking my current medications?

The trial information does not specify whether you need to stop taking your current medications.

What data supports the idea that Palmar Cooling for Fatigue is an effective treatment?

The available research shows that Palmar Cooling can effectively reduce fatigue. In a study with rowers, those who used palm cooling during and after workouts rowed longer distances and had lower heart rates and blood lactate levels, which are signs of less fatigue. Another study with surgeons found that muscle cooling reduced tremors and extended the time before they felt fatigued, especially in experienced surgeons. These findings suggest that Palmar Cooling helps people perform better by reducing fatigue. ^{1 2 3 4 5}

What data supports the effectiveness of the treatment Palmar Cooling for Fatigue?

Research shows that cooling the palms can help reduce fatigue and improve performance during physical activities, like rowing and strength training, by lowering heart rates and blood lactate levels, which are indicators of fatigue. ^{1 2 3 4 5}

What safety data exists for palmar cooling treatment?

The provided research does not directly address the safety of palmar cooling, but it does explore related topics such as skin temperature responses to cold and vibration, and the effects of palm cooling on heat strain. The study on palm cooling during simulated armoured vehicle transport suggests that palm cooling can reduce heat strain without mentioning adverse effects, implying a level of safety. However, specific safety data for palmar cooling as a treatment for fatigue is not detailed in these studies. ^{3 4 6 7 8}

Is palmar cooling safe for humans?

Research on palm cooling, including studies on its use to reduce heat strain, suggests it is generally safe for humans. No significant safety concerns have been reported in studies involving palm cooling for various conditions. ^{3 4 6 7 8}

Is palmar cooling a promising treatment for fatigue?

Yes, palmar cooling is a promising treatment for reducing fatigue. It can help lower heart rate and reduce muscle tremors, making it useful for activities that require endurance and precision, like sports or surgery. ^{1 7 9 10 11}

How does palmar cooling differ from other treatments for fatigue?

Palmar cooling is unique because it involves cooling the palms of the hands to potentially reduce fatigue, which is different from other treatments that might focus on medication or whole-body cooling. This method targets specific areas to manage temperature and blood flow, which could help alleviate fatigue without systemic interventions. ^{1 7 9 10 11}

What is the purpose of this trial?

Repeated sprinting ability is key for athletic performance in a variety of sport settings. Significant degradations in work output (i.e. fatigue) have been shown to develop after just one sprinting bout1. This pilot study aims to investigate the effects that noninvasive transient temperature manipulation has on an individual's ability to perform repeated sprints. The investigators aim to enroll 90 healthy individuals, 18-30 years of age. Participants will be randomized into two groups (Group A, and B). All groups will perform a ten-minute warm-up followed by two minutes of rest. Following the warm-up and rest period, all groups will participate in a series of five sprints, 60 meters in total length with two 180 degree changes in direction. Between sprints, participants will have 10 seconds rest. After the first series of five sprints participants will be given a 2-minute rest interval. Then participants will perform another series of five sprints followed by another 2-minute rest interval. During each rest interval, Group A will utilize a palmar cooling device. Group B will utilize a placebo version of the palmar cooling device. All sprints will be timed. Heart rate recovery will be measured during all rest breaks, and a rating of perceived exertion will be measured at the beginning and end of each resting interval. Delayed onset muscle soreness will be assessed 48 hours post sprinting, utilizing a visual analog scale.

Eligibility Criteria

This trial is for healthy individuals aged 18-30 who are interested in how cooling their palms might affect their sprinting performance. Participants will be doing repeated sprints and must not have any health issues that could interfere with intense physical activity.

Inclusion Criteria

I am healthy and between 18 to 30 years old.

Exclusion Criteria

Participant has previously used the palmar cooling device

Participant self-reporting injury or illness that will prevent them from exercising at maximal capacity

Participant has been told by their healthcare provider that they should avoid exercising at maximal capacity

Timeline

Screening

Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial

1-2 weeks

Treatment

Participants perform repeated sprints with palmar cooling or placebo device

1 day

1 visit (in-person)

Follow-up

Participants are monitored for delayed onset muscle soreness and perceived exertion

2 days

1 follow-up assessment (virtual or in-person)

Treatment Details

Interventions

• Palmar Cooling

Trial Overview The study tests if a palmar cooling device can help maintain sprinting ability when used during short rest intervals between sprints. Participants will be randomly placed into two groups, one using the actual cooling device and the other using a placebo (fake) device.

Participant Groups

Group I: Intervention Group Experimental Treatment 1 Intervention

Group II: Control Placebo Group 1 Intervention

Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?

University of Mississippi Medical Center

Lead Sponsor

Trials

185

Recruited

200,000+

Findings from Research

A muscle-cooling garment significantly reduced tremor amplitude in experienced surgeons during tasks, indicating its potential to enhance surgical performance by minimizing tremors.

Both novice and experienced surgeons showed improved time to fatigue and suture time with muscle cooling, suggesting that this intervention could be beneficial in reducing fatigue during long surgical procedures, although these effects were not statistically significant.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Muscle-Cooling Intervention to Reduce Fatigue and Fatigue-Induced Tremor in Novice and Experienced Surgeons: A Preliminary Investigation. Jensen, L., Dancisak, M., Korndorffer, J.[2021]

In a study with 34 participants, intermittent palm cooling using gloves during rowing workouts significantly improved performance, allowing subjects to row further compared to no cooling.

The use of palm cooling also resulted in lower heart rates and blood lactate levels, indicating reduced fatigue and enhanced exercise capacity during the workouts.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Use of Gloves to Examine Intermittent Palm Cooling's Impact on Rowing Ergometry. O'Brien, IT., Kozerski, AE., Gray, WD., et al.[2023]

In a study of 18 participants (9 with hand trauma and 9 controls), hand trauma patients experienced significantly lower skin temperatures during cold exposure, indicating greater cold intolerance compared to uninjured individuals.

Warming interventions, such as wearing gloves, significantly improved skin temperatures and comfort levels for all participants, highlighting the effectiveness of warming strategies in managing cold-induced symptoms in hand trauma patients.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Effect of Forearm Warming Compared to Hand Warming for Cold Intolerance Following Upper Extremity Trauma. Novak, CB., Li, Y., von Schroeder, HP., et al.[2020]

Palm cooling (PC) effectively reduced core and skin temperatures in hyperthermic subjects wearing protective garments, showing a significant temperature decrease of 0.38°C after 50 minutes compared to no cooling.

Both palm cooling methods (PC and PC with vacuum application) provided similar benefits in reducing thermal sensation and body temperatures, but the overall heat extraction was modest compared to other cooling techniques.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Palm cooling to reduce heat strain in subjects during simulated armoured vehicle transport. Kuennen, MR., Gillum, TL., Amorim, FT., et al.[2021]

Palm cooling during resistive exercise significantly reduces core temperature and increases work volume, with participants performing an average of 42 reps compared to 36 reps without cooling, indicating a strong link between elevated core temperatures and fatigue onset.

Over a training period, palm cooling enhanced work volume by 40% in bench press and 144% in pull-ups, while also contributing to a 22% increase in strength, suggesting that this cooling method can effectively improve training outcomes.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Work volume and strength training responses to resistive exercise improve with periodic heat extraction from the palm. Grahn, DA., Cao, VH., Nguyen, CM., et al.[2022]

The study involved 14 subjects who were exposed to hand-arm vibration (HAV) under different temperature conditions to assess its effects on skin temperature.

Results indicated that a single exposure to HAV does not cause immediate injury like vibration-induced white fingers (VWF), but it does lead to minor changes in skin temperature, particularly in the palm after gripping.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Skin temperature responses to hand-arm vibration in cold and thermoneutral ambient temperatures. Pettersson, H., Rissanen, S., Wahlström, J., et al.[2019]

In a study involving 28 participants, significant spatial variability in skin temperature was observed on the hand during both convective (60 min) and contact (5 min) cold exposure, with temperature differences of up to 17 degrees Celsius between different areas.

The onset of cold-induced vasodilation (CIVD) varied between fingers, taking 5 to 15 minutes to occur, highlighting the need for multiple measurement points to accurately assess extremity cooling responses.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Hand and finger skin temperatures in convective and contact cold exposure. Chen, F., Liu, ZY., Holmér, I.[2019]

Cold application to the hand (CAH) significantly increased heart rate and cerebrovascular resistance index in all groups, indicating a consistent physiological response to cold exposure regardless of spinal cord injury level.

Patients with tetraplegia showed a significant increase in blood pressure during CAH, while those with paraplegia did not, suggesting that the thoracic spinal cord plays a crucial role in mediating the cold pressor response.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Cold pressor test in tetraplegia and paraplegia suggests an independent role of the thoracic spinal cord in the hemodynamic responses to cold. Catz, A., Bluvshtein, V., Pinhas, I., et al.[2011]

In a study involving 10 recreationally-active adults, using an ice vest during recovery in hot conditions significantly reduced heart rate and skin temperature compared to non-cooling methods and single-hand cooling techniques.

The ice vest was more effective in lowering body temperature and heat storage during both short (15 min) and prolonged (60 min) recovery periods, indicating it is a superior cooling method for managing heat stress after exercise.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

An Ice Vest, but Not Single-Hand Cooling, Is Effective at Reducing Thermo-Physiological Strain During Exercise Recovery in the Heat. Seeley, AD., Sherman, RA.[2021]

The study found that individuals with upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders (UEMSD) and cold hands showed significantly less increase in hand temperature after typing compared to those without cold hands and control subjects, suggesting reduced blood flow may contribute to their symptoms.

Dynamic thermography effectively distinguished between groups, revealing that while controls and UEMSD cases without cold hands experienced a temperature increase after typing, those with cold hands did not, indicating a potential mechanism behind their discomfort.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Infrared thermography for examination of skin temperature in the dorsal hand of office workers. Gold, JE., Cherniack, M., Buchholz, B.[2018]

Cooling the arm significantly impairs manual performance, with decrements of 43-85% observed in tests when both the body and arm were cooled, indicating that local arm cooling has a major impact on motor function.

The study found that the temperature of the arm (Tmus) accounted for 85-98% of the variance in performance scores, suggesting that local cooling effects are the primary factor affecting manual dexterity, rather than whole body cooling.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Isolated effects of peripheral arm and central body cooling on arm performance. Giesbrecht, GG., Wu, MP., White, MD., et al.[2006]

References

1. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Muscle-Cooling Intervention to Reduce Fatigue and Fatigue-Induced Tremor in Novice and Experienced Surgeons: A Preliminary Investigation. [2021]

2. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Use of Gloves to Examine Intermittent Palm Cooling's Impact on Rowing Ergometry. [2023]

3. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Effect of Forearm Warming Compared to Hand Warming for Cold Intolerance Following Upper Extremity Trauma. [2020]

4. Germany pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Palm cooling to reduce heat strain in subjects during simulated armoured vehicle transport. [2021]

5. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Work volume and strength training responses to resistive exercise improve with periodic heat extraction from the palm. [2022]

6. Japan pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Skin temperature responses to hand-arm vibration in cold and thermoneutral ambient temperatures. [2019]

7. Germany pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Hand and finger skin temperatures in convective and contact cold exposure. [2019]

8. England pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Cold pressor test in tetraplegia and paraplegia suggests an independent role of the thoracic spinal cord in the hemodynamic responses to cold. [2011]

9. Switzerland pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

An Ice Vest, but Not Single-Hand Cooling, Is Effective at Reducing Thermo-Physiological Strain During Exercise Recovery in the Heat. [2021]

10. Germany pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Infrared thermography for examination of skin temperature in the dorsal hand of office workers. [2018]

11. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Isolated effects of peripheral arm and central body cooling on arm performance. [2006]