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

What You Need to Know Before You Apply

What is the purpose of this trial?

This trial explores whether a cooling device used on the palms (Palmar Cooling) can reduce fatigue during repeated sprints. Participants will sprint multiple times with short rests in between, using either a real or placebo cooling device on their hands. The goal is to determine if the cooling improves sprint performance and recovery. The trial seeks healthy individuals who frequently exercise at high intensity and have never used the cooling device. As an Early Phase 1 trial, this research focuses on understanding how the cooling device functions in people, offering participants a chance to experience this innovative approach.

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 prior data suggests that this palmar cooling device is safe?

Research has shown that cooling the palms is generally safe. Studies on this method, particularly for reducing heat stress, have not identified any major safety issues. Participants in those studies did not report serious side effects, indicating that the body usually well-accepts palm cooling. The treatment aims to cool the palms to help reduce fatigue during physical activities, such as repeated sprints. ^{1 2 3 4 5}

Why are researchers excited about this trial?

Researchers are excited about palmar cooling for fatigue because it offers a fresh approach to managing this common issue. Unlike traditional treatments that often rely on medications or lifestyle adjustments, palmar cooling uses a simple, non-invasive method by cooling the palms of the hands. This technique is believed to help regulate body temperature and improve energy levels without the side effects associated with many drugs. Additionally, it could provide rapid relief, making it an attractive option for those seeking immediate improvement in fatigue symptoms.

What evidence suggests that palmar cooling is effective for reducing fatigue?

This trial will evaluate the effectiveness of palmar cooling for fatigue. Studies have shown mixed results regarding its efficacy. One study found that athletes using palmar cooling during breaks improved exercise performance by 40% to 60%, suggesting it might reduce tiredness and boost performance. However, another study found no major effects on the body's physical or energy responses during exercise. Some research suggests that palmar cooling may help control body temperature, potentially delaying fatigue. While some results are promising, not all studies agree, so more research is needed to confirm its effectiveness for repeated sprinting. ^{1 3 5 6 7}

Are You a Good Fit for This Trial?

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 for a Trial Participant

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)

What Are the Treatments Tested in This Trial?

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.

How Is the Trial Designed?

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+

Published Research Related to This Trial

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

Citations

1. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11946134/

The Effects of Palmar Cooling on Repeated Sprinting Ability The aim of this randomized placebo-controlled trial was to explore the effects of palmar cooling on repeated sprinting performance and recovery.

2. medium.com medium.com/@kselapt/not-so-fast-major-issues-found-with-2023-study-showing-no-effect-of-palm-cooling-e5e2255df7e1

Not so fast: Major issues found with 2023 study showing no ... The combined findings of both papers state palm cooling had no observable effects on physiological, metabolic responses during exercise.

3. commons.und.edu commons.und.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1774&context=pt-grad

The Effects of Palmar Cooling on Power, Strength, and ... By increasing training duration, athletes could have the potential of reaching higher levels of performance that was previously limited due to ...

4. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22076097/

Work volume and strength training responses to resistive ... These results verify previous observations about the effects of palm cooling on work volume, demonstrate a link between core temperature and fatigue onset.

5. ironmaster.com ironmaster.com/blog/health-fitness/unlocking-peak-performance-palmar-cooling-athletes/

The Benefits of Palmar Cooling for Athletes - Ironmaster Athletes using palm cooling during rest periods showed improvements ranging from 40% to 60% in terms of exercise output and this was even true to professional ...

6. withpower.com withpower.com/trial/early-phase-1-fatigue-3-2024-9cf2a

Palmar Cooling for Fatigue · Info for Participants 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 ...

7. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40292933/

The Effects of Palmar Cooling on Repeated Sprinting Ability The aim of this randomized placebo-controlled trial was to explore the effects of palmar cooling on repeated sprinting performance and recovery.