Cooling Champions: The Game-Changing Impact of the Narwhals in Adaptive Sports
A couple of months ago, we received an intriguing direct message from an athletic trainer working with elite parasport athletes who introduced us to a powerful use case for palm cooling.
Alex Curry is the Director of Sports Medicine for Adapted Athletics at the University of Alabama where she has helped the Tide win 6 national titles across basketball and tennis. She is also the athletic trainer for Team USA women’s wheelchair basketball — the Paris Paralympics silver medalists!
When we talked to Alex, she shared a unique challenge faced by many athletes with disabilities.
“In many cases, athletes with spinal cord injuries do not sweat below the level of their injury which leads to a buildup of excess body heat that undermines performance and can lead to heat illness,” explained Alex.
When we work out, we generate heat as a byproduct of energy production. This heat can inhibit performance in several ways including elevating our heart rate, increasing the loss of electrolytes, and reducing muscle energy.
Sweat is one of the most powerful physiological mechanisms we have for cooling down. Even for able-bodied athletes, thermoregulation is a challenge. Imagine how hard it would be to cool down if 50% of your skin surface can’t perspire!
“In para sports, it is so important to listen to your athletes,” says Alex. “There is not enough research on athletes with disabilities, so as an athletic trainer, you have to approach each athlete individually and understand the nuances of their injury so you can help them perform their best.”
Alex is always keeping an eye on her athletes for signs of overheating including excessive flush and decreased power output, but the tools available to mitigate heat stress have been limited to spray bottles and cool towels. Alex was curious if the Narwhals could provide a better solution.
The palms are natural radiators for the body
The Narwhals are a heat stress mitigation device that provides full-body cooling via specialized vasculature in our palms. When we get hot, more blood flows through these skin areas and by holding something cool (not cold) you can rapidly offload heat by cooling the blood.
In peer reviewed research, this technique has been shown to reduce core body temperature, lower fatigue markers, and improve athletic performance.
After successfully trialing in practices, Alex introduced the Narwhals during games, including during the Paralympics last September. “At every timeout and break, we have players reaching for the Narwhals to cool down and recover faster so they can retake the court with more energy.”
Today, the Narwhals are used across several parasports at the University of Alabama including adapted track, tennis, and basketball.
“The Narwhals have made a significant impact on our thermoregulation model for our parathletes,” says Alex. “We now have a proactive method for managing heat before it becomes a problem and extending our athletes’ ability to perform at higher intensities longer.”
Alex is also pursuing her PhD from the University of Alabama in Interdisciplinary Studies focusing on sports medicine in adapted athletics and leadership. We are beyond proud to be working with a professional like Alex who is committed to advancing sports medicine research for para-athletes. We look forward to collaborating with Alex and her team at the University of Alabama as they incorporate thermoregulation for the win!
