Preparation of Paralympic Athletes; Environmental Concerns and Heat Acclimation

Price, Mike J.

doi:10.3389/fphys.2015.00415

Cited by 14 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 22 publications

(29 reference statements)

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“…This review should direct practitioners preparing non-disabled individuals for competition in heat stress to the optimal methods to attenuate the heat-induced performance decrements and to protect athlete health. Whilst many thermophysiology principles are shared, we direct the reader to literature describing techniques to alleviate heat strain in para-athletes, given critical and pertinent nuances should be considered from health and performance perspectives in this cohort [4][5][6][7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heat alleviation strategies for athletic performance: A review and practitioner guidelines

et al. 2019

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International competition inevitably presents logistical challenges for athletes. Events such as the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games require further consideration given historical climate data suggest athletes will experience significant heat stress. Given the expected climate, athletes face major challenges to health and performance. With this in mind, heat alleviation strategies should be a fundamental consideration. This review provides a focused perspective of the relevant literature describing how practitioners can structure male and female athlete preparations for performance in hot, humid conditions. Whilst scientific literature commonly describes experimental work, with a primary focus on maximizing magnitudes of adaptive responses, this may sacrifice ecological validity, particularly for athletes whom must balance logistical considerations aligned with integrating environmental preparation around training, tapering and travel plans. Additionally, opportunities for sophisticated interventions may not be possible in the constrained environment of the athlete village or event arenas. This review therefore takes knowledge gained from robust experimental work, interprets it and provides direction on how practitioners/coaches can optimize their athletes' heat alleviation strategies. This review identifies two distinct heat alleviation themes that should be considered to form an individualized strategy for the athlete to enhance thermoregulatory/performance physiology. First, chronic heat alleviation techniques are outlined, these describe interventions such as heat acclimation, which are implemented pre, during and posttraining to prepare for the increased heat stress. Second, acute heat alleviation techniques that are implemented immediately prior to, and sometimes during the event are discussed.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heat alleviation strategies for athletic performance: A review and practitioner guidelines

et al. 2019

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“…As noted earlier, the literature to date concerning HA in Paralympic athletes has been confined to one study in target shooters with a spinal cord injury (Castle et al, 2013), despite acknowledgments of the need for greater evidence (Price, 2015; Casadio et al, 2017). The authors stated that the five participants displayed partial HA through a decrease in resting and exercising aural temperature, end-exercise HR, TS, and RPE.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mixed Active and Passive, Heart Rate-Controlled Heat Acclimation Is Effective for Paralympic and Able-Bodied Triathletes

2019

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Purpose: The aims of this study are to explore the effectiveness of mixed active and passive heat acclimation (HA), controlling the relative intensity of exercise by heart rate (HR) in paratriathletes (PARA), and to determine the adaptation differences to able-bodied (AB) triathletes.Methods: Seven elite paratriathletes and 13 AB triathletes undertook an 8-day HA intervention consisting of five HR-controlled sessions and three passive heat exposures (35°C, 63% relative humidity). On the first and last days of HA, heat stress tests were conducted, whereby thermoregulatory changes were recorded during at a fixed, submaximal workload. The AB group undertook 20 km cycling time trials pre- and post-HA with performance compared to an AB, non-acclimated control group.Results: During the heat stress test, HA lowered core temperature (PARA: 0.27 ± 0.32°C; AB: 0.28 ± 0.34°C), blood lactate concentration (PARA: 0.23 ± 0.15 mmol l−1; AB: 0.38 ± 0.31 mmol l−1) with concomitant plasma volume expansion (PARA: 12.7 ± 10.6%; AB: 6.2 ± 7.7%; p ≤ 0.047). In the AB group, a lower skin temperature (0.19 ± 0.44°C) and HR (5 ± 6 bpm) with a greater sweat rate (0.17 ± 0.25 L h−1) were evident post-HA (p ≤ 0.045), but this was not present for the PARA group (p ≥ 0.177). The AB group improved their performance by an extent greater than the smallest worthwhile change based on the normal variation present with no HA (4.5 vs. 3.7%).Conclusions: Paratriathletes are capable of displaying partial HA, albeit not to same extent as AB triathletes. The HA protocol was effective at stimulating thermoregulatory adaptations with performance changes noted in AB triathletes.

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“…Following SCI, the afferent pathways from the periphery to the thermoregulatory effectors in the hypothalamus are disrupted, accounting for the abnormal physiological control during physical activities and exercise (Walter & Krassioukov, 2018). During continuous submaximal exercise in temperate and warm conditions (20-30°C), athletes with SCI show elevated core body temperature, and this increase in core body temperature is more evident in athletes with high level lesion when traumatic damage occurs above T6 (Price, 2016;Price & Trbovich, 2018). This alteration of sympathetic nervous system activity below the lesion level also impairs sweating, increasing susceptibility of heat illness (Price, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…During continuous submaximal exercise in temperate and warm conditions (20-30°C), athletes with SCI show elevated core body temperature, and this increase in core body temperature is more evident in athletes with high level lesion when traumatic damage occurs above T6 (Price, 2016;Price & Trbovich, 2018). This alteration of sympathetic nervous system activity below the lesion level also impairs sweating, increasing susceptibility of heat illness (Price, 2016). Athletes with SCI are therefore considered to be under a greater risk of hyperthermia when compared to the able-bodied athletes (Lepretre, Goosey-Tolfrey, Janssen, & Perret, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exercise Core Body Temperature is Adequately Regulated Following Spinal Cord Injury: A Meta-Analysis

Zhang¹,

Popović²

2019

J. Anthr. Sport Phis. Educ.

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Damage to the spinal cord results in malfunction of sympathetic pathways, which consequently influences thermoregulation during exercise. A consensus view is that athletes with spinal cord injury (SCI) are at a heightened thermal strain than the able-bodied athletes. However, a number of studies have reported similar increases in core body temperature in both populations. This study presented an up-to-date review of core body temperature response to exercise, from a meta-analytic point of view. Inclusion criteria were persons with SCI and control population (either healthy persons or wheelchair athletes without SCI) completed an exercise trial and their core body temperature responses were recorded under the same environmental conditions. Effect of SCI on thermoregulatory capabilities was quantified as raw mean core body temperature difference. Twelve studies examining 100 persons with SCI (Cervical (C2) to Lumbar (L5)) and 97 persons without SCI were meta-analyzed. The exercise interventions were submaximal exercise and the unweighted means ± standard deviations heat index and exercise duration were 31.5±11.9°C and 57±20 min, respectively. Regardless of injury, core body temperature was not different: raw mean difference, 0.048°C; 95% confidence interval,-0.12°C to 0.22°C. In conclusion, under SCI sport-specific exercise and environmental conditions, SCI does not produce outsized thermoregulatory impact, though the influence could be variable as a result of different lesion levels.

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Preparation of Paralympic Athletes; Environmental Concerns and Heat Acclimation

Cited by 14 publications

References 22 publications

Heat alleviation strategies for athletic performance: A review and practitioner guidelines

Heat alleviation strategies for athletic performance: A review and practitioner guidelines

Mixed Active and Passive, Heart Rate-Controlled Heat Acclimation Is Effective for Paralympic and Able-Bodied Triathletes

Exercise Core Body Temperature is Adequately Regulated Following Spinal Cord Injury: A Meta-Analysis

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