Improved sweat gland function during active heating in tennis athletes.

Area of Science:

• Physiology
• Sports Science
• Thermoregulation

Background:

• Limited research exists on peripheral sweating in trained tennis athletes.
• Understanding thermoregulatory differences is crucial for athlete performance and health.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the sweating capacities of trained tennis athletes with untrained controls.
• To investigate differences in peripheral sweat gland function under controlled heat stress.

Main Methods:

• Thirty-five healthy males (15 untrained, 20 trained tennis athletes) underwent 30 minutes of active heating in a climate chamber.
• Measurements included local sweat onset time, sweat volume, activated sweat glands, sweat output per gland, and whole body sweat loss.
• Mean body temperature was calculated from tympanic and skin temperatures.

Main Results:

• Tennis athletes demonstrated significantly shorter local sweat onset times (p < 0.001).
• Trained athletes exhibited higher local sweat volume, more activated sweat glands on torso/limbs, and greater sweat output per gland (p < 0.001).
• Whole body sweat loss volume was significantly higher in tennis athletes, with lower tympanic and mean body temperatures (p < 0.05).

Conclusions:

• Tennis athletes possess enhanced regulatory capacity of their sweat gland function.
• These findings suggest superior thermoregulatory adaptations in trained tennis players.