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Athlete and practitioner prevalence, practices, and perceptions of passive heating in sport

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Abstract

Recent research into passive heating has shown that it can enhance performance when used as; a stimulus for heat acclimation, part of regular training, or during a warm-up. However, this research is contradictory to established practices such as ice baths in the case of recovery. The current usage and understanding of passive heating within sport is unknown. This study aimed to establish the current prevalence, practices and perceptions of passive heating from athletes and sport science practitioners within sport using an online survey. Of the 343 respondents, 62% of athletes and 69% of practitioners reported using passive heating within their sport, with a greater prevalence amongst combat sport athletes or athletes competing at a higher standard (p < 0.05). The most commonly reported purpose of engaging in passive heating for athletes was recovery (66%), and for practitioners was heat acclimation (64%). Most athletes previously engaging in passive heating perceived it to be beneficial for its intended purpose (86%), providing anecdotal evidence to support its use where there currently is no scientific evidence. Moreover, transient negative consequences, such as dizziness or fatigue, were experienced by 55% of athletes highlighting the potential detrimental effects passive heating could have on training or performance that should be considered by athletes and practitioners. Therefore, this survey establishes key differences between scientific understanding and sporting practices whilst identifying areas of future development for the use of passive heating within sport.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank all the athletes and practitioners who completed the survey as well as everyone who helped share the survey via social media.

Funding

There is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Sport Exercise and Life Sciences, Coventry University, Priory Street, Coventry, CV1 5FB, UK

    Campbell Menzies, Neil D. Clarke, Charles J. Steward, C. Douglas Thake & Tom Cullen

  2. Cardiff School of Sport and Health Sciences, Cardiff Metropolitan University, Cardiff, UK

    Christopher J. A. Pugh

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  1. Campbell Menzies
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  2. Neil D. Clarke
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  3. Christopher J. A. Pugh
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  4. Charles J. Steward
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Correspondence to Campbell Menzies.

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Ethical approval was received from Coventry University Ethics committee (P119742).

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A total of 343 participants provided informed consent via the online survey which included both consent to participate and consent that the data could be used for publication.

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Menzies, C., Clarke, N.D., Pugh, C.J.A. et al. Athlete and practitioner prevalence, practices, and perceptions of passive heating in sport. Sport Sci Health 19, 329–338 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11332-022-00954-9

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