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FOOTBALL UNIFORMS CAN CAUSE HEAT STRESS
Study results may help prevent heat illness if used to adapt uniforms to environmental conditions By its nature, football can be a dangerous, sometimes
deadly sport. Ironically, the very equipment meant to protect a player from
injuries associated with physical play and on-field collisions presents
another danger.
For the first time, researchers have published quantitative data that indicate just how much football uniforms restrict heat loss, even those uniforms designed for warmer weather. In a study published in the May 2003 edition of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise®, the official scientific journal of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), researchers from Kansas State University and the Pennsylvania State University present data for five different configurations of football uniforms. |
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These uniform types range in coverage and complexity from cold-weather uniforms complete with full pads, long underwear, and gloves, to a common practice "shell," where football pants with leg pads are replaced by mesh shorts. The data indicate alarming realities of football uniforms and how they can prevent the body from shedding heat. For example, a full uniform was found to have the same insulating properties of a heavy three-piece wool business suit. "There has been a need for this type of information that coaches, team physicians and trainers can use to manage practices, with the goal of preventing heat-related injuries and deaths too commonly associated with the sport of football," says ACSM President-elect W. Larry Kenney, Ph.D., FACSM, one of the study's co-authors. "Incorporating this information with other readily-available data such as air temperature and humidity could be useful in determining what types of uniforms could be worn safely for practices as conditions change day-to-day." The five uniform configurations, along with a sixth outfit consisting of only a T-shirt, shorts, socks and shoes were lab tested in a controlled environment. To measure the thermal resistance (insulation) of the uniforms, a mannequin was dressed in each outfit and heated to simulate rising body temperature. |
The temperature was measured at 16 places on the body as each uniform was worn to determine the influence of each on the mannequin's ability to shed heat. A similar test was performed to determine the evaporative resistance (which blocks cooling through sweat evaporation) of each outfit. For this test, researchers simulated perspiration by adding a cotton knit "skin" to the mannequin and spraying that skin with water.
The results of these tests indicate that even the typical warm-weather practice uniform of shoulder pads and helmet on the upper body, but shorts over the legs, allows for only half of the heat loss through sweating that the T-shirt/shorts ensemble promotes. The data can also be compared to results previously found for other, more common clothing. For example, playing football in a full but lighter uniform is akin to playing in heavy jeans and a heavy, long-sleeved rugby-style shirt.
The impact and usefulness of the data could be illustrated by using relatively simple mathematical formulas, through which it will now be possible to predict factors such as how much an athlete's core temperature will rise during exercise. The authors say the significance of this study will be realized only if the data are properly utilized as one tool to promote safety and rational decision-making by coaches, trainers, and team physicians.
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