Influence of cooling jacket and drinking water on body temperature regulation during exercise in persons with spinal cord injury

The purpose of this study was to clarify the effects of wearing a cooling jacket and drinking water on thermoregulatory responses during arm cranking exercise in individuals with spinal cord injury (ISCI). Six males with paraplegia (L1-Th6) exercised for 30min at 20 watts in a hot environment (33℃, 80% relative humidity) under three separate conditions: no drinking (ND), drinking water (D), and combination of drinking water and wearing a cooling jacket (DJ). Tympanic membrane temperature (Tty), skin temperature and heart rate were continuously monitored. Although in all conditions Tty increased during exercise, the rate of increase was smallest in DJ. Significant difference was noted between ND and DJ for Tty (P<0.05). The arm and thigh skin temperature were also lower in DJ in comparison to ND and D. Total sweat loss in ND and D (300g) was significantly greater than those in DJ (190g) (P<0.05). Heart rate in DJ significantly decreased at the end of exercise compared to ND. These results indicated that combination of drinking water and wearing a cooling jacket yielded an attenuated thermoregulatory and circulatory strain in ISCI.