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How Do Cooled Gloves Work

1. Introduction

High-intensity exercise raises core body temperature, resulting in changes in the body’s metabolism and increased thermal stress and muscle fatigue [1, 2]. Elevated core body temperature causes fatigue because of increased blood flow, blood lactate concentration, and oxygen intake. Among numerous postworkout recovery approaches, cryotherapy has become widespread [3]. Cryotherapy is a method applied in sporting events to improve recovery from strenuous exercise by cooling part or all of the body, preventing high fever caused by exercise. Cryotherapy is being studied under various conditions (environment, temperature, exercise intensity) and methods (full-body immersion, half-body immersion, partial immersion). In the related study, the five cooling techniques, including using an air-cooled garment, a liquid-cooled garment, a phase change garment or clothing, hand immersion, and whole-body cooling were compared. Among these, it was found that whole-body cooling was the most effective treatment [4]. Similarly, other studies found that wind cooling was more effective than using ice packs [5], and reported that the core temperature could be reduced through the intake of 12∘C to the chest area [6]. In addition, there was a study that reported the blood lactate concentration decreased after applying thigh cooling from 0∘C to 10∘C for 20 minutes [7]. However, these cooling techniques are inconvenient because they require expensive equipment or large spaces to perform, making them impractical in many cases.

The cooling effect may vary as different body tissues do not process the same perfusion [8], such as in the arteriovenous anastomosis site, where there is a large area for blood flow. A larger blood flow area enables rapid blood circulation, while the connected reticular veins existing in the dermis layer rapidly transfer core body temperature into the skin [9, 10]. In peripheral areas such as the extremities and ears, there is an arteriovenous anastomosis site where small arteries and veins are directly connected. The hand region with arteriovenous anastomosis is able to satisfy the ease of use and effectiveness of reducing the temperature of the body.

Research has focused on cooling the hand while considering convenience during exercise or rest. The effects of hand cooling and hydration on lowering body temperature after exercise were investigated by comparing the following physiological states: hydrated with passive rest, hydrated with hand cooling on both hands, dehydrated with passive rest, and dehydrated with hand cooling on both hands. Their study showed that body temperature decreased more when both hands were cooled than in passive rest, regardless of hydration [11]. Another study reported that applying local subatmospheric pressure to the entire hand and attaching a heat sink to the palm extracted heat from the circulating blood resulted in exercise endurance [12]. Unfortunately, existing studies are still inconclusive on the effect of hand cooling alone. Thus, further investigation into the efficacy of hand cooling is needed to understand its potential for enhancing postexercise recovery fully.

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This study investigates the effects of hand cooling on human body functional recovery and exercise ability improvement by comparing normal rest against rest with hand cooling gloves after high-intensity exercise. Blood lactate concentration with body heat was investigated to determine the efficacy of hand cooling gloves for postexercise recovery after exercise. The heart rate recovery was investigated to check the degree of recovery to resting heart rate related to exercise ability. The VO2 max was measured to confirm cardiopulmonary function indicating the ability to sustain long-term exercise. Likewise, indicating the ability to exercise, the degrees of recovery of muscle strength, muscular endurance, and muscle fatigue caused by exercise were investigated [12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17].

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