The effectiveness of a cooling vest in post-exercise recovery in sprint kayaking elite male athletes

Background: Cooling vests are popular and widely used in many sports. There are several studies about their efficacy but there is not much evidence about their impact on the recovery of kayak sprint male athletes. Methods: Ten elite male sprint kayakers completed an exercise protocol on a kayak ergometer on two separate days. They were randomized to wear a cold vest during a 15 min active rest on one of these days. Following the pre designed protocol, all sessions were performed in a climate chamber with controlled temperature and humidity conditions. At both moments, the blood lactate concentration was determined, as well as urine temperature. Skin temperature in the latissimus dorsi muscle area was assessed several times along the protocol, using infrared thermography. Borg's rating of perceived exertion (RPE Scale) was applied to the protocol after each exercise bout and the perceived recovery scale was applied before the last moment of the protocol (500 m test). Results: The subjective perception of recovery was significantly higher during the cooling vest condition (p < 0.01). There were no significant differences on performance in the 500 m maximal test when comparing both days. On the other hand, after the active recovery with cold vest, the skin temperature (p < 0.01), urine temperature (p < 0.05) and blood lactate concentration were all significantly lower (p < 0.05). Discussion: Results revealed that the cooling vest is a suitable instrument to induce a decrease in skin and core temperature while paddling and also to reduce more quickly the blood lactate concentration. The vest should be tested under on-water conditions in order to consider other factors such as wind and solar radiation. Conclusions: Wearing a cooling vest during active rest after a training session or a competition seems to improve the recovery of male kayakers.