EXERCISE-INDUCED HEAT STRESS: PASSIVE RECOVERY OR SUBSEQUENT TREATMENT

Continuous exposure to high environmental temperatures makes an individual physiologically and psychologically prone to heat stress injury. [6] Obviously prevention is preferable to treatment. The key to the prevention and treatment of heat stress is to provide individuals with adequate fluids and a periodic exposure to a cool environment. [2,5] Nevertheless, heat stress does occur and treatment is needed. In the past, the cornerstone of treatment has been to rapidly cool the victim (e.g. using ice packs) and to administer fluids.[6] Unfortunately, ice packs or cold water baths are often impractical and time consuming means to treat heat stress in the field or other emergency situations. The present study was performed to gain new insights into the occurrence of exercise-induced heat stress and its subsequent treatment Le., passive recovery at room temperature was compared to active cooling by ice packs or convective air. METHODS These studies were approved by the University of Minnesota Committee on Human Research and written consent from all volunteers was obtained. Subjects were healthy males not taking any medication and were without any health problems. All subjects had a pre-study medical evaluation, including body weight (nude), skinfold measurements, assessment of physical activity habits, and symptom-limited treadmill exercise testing using the Bruce Protocol.[I] No subject had a rhythm or ST disturbance and all had a