Make the Most of Rehab: Recover in as Little as 5 Minutes with CoolMitt® Technology.
CoolMitt® palmar cooling enabled firefighters to recover twice as fast as passive cooling.
CoolMitt® enables recovery more than twice as fast.
In the first two minutes of recovery, CoolMitt® device users recovered 118% faster than passive cooling. In five minutes of recovery, CoolMitt® technology allowed for a heart rate recovery of 41 bpm compared to 25 bpm for passive cooling.
Cooling quicker during recovery is healthier and easier on the body and allows for a quicker return to action.
Stronger recovery, faster.
It took only two minutes for firefighters using CoolMitt® units to decrease their heart rate by 20 bpm, compared to four minutes for passive cooling. This advantage continued throughout the recovery period, with passive cooling for 10 minutes failing to reduce heart rate by 40 bpm.
The CoolMitt® device, on the other hand, was able to reduce heart rate by 40 bpm in less than 5 minutes.
More time in “Green” Zone, less time in “Red”.
Firefighters spent more time during the entire training exercise in the Green Zone (HR<65% age adjusted max) and less time in the Red Zone (HR>85% age adjusted max) when CoolMItt® cooling during rehab sessions.
Less time to reach the “Green” Zone during rehab.
During rehab sessions, firefighters using CoolMitt® devices reached the Green Zone 67% faster on average than firefighters not using CoolMitt technology.
Background
10 firefighters from the Homewood Fire Department in Homewood, Alabama conducted training sessions on March 22 and March 24, 2022. Training protocols were identical both days. On the 22nd, CoolMitt® devices were used to cool half the firefighters during rehab sessions with the other half receiving no treatment.
On the 24th, those groups switched so that those that previously used CoolMitt® devices did not and vice versa. Zephyr™ BioModule Performance Systems by Medtronic were utilized to capture physiological and biomechanical data each day. Temperatures both days were cool (mid 50s and 60s) with low humidity, low-mid UV indices and windy.
Training Exercises
The firefighters were in full PPE with SCBA and mask breathing off the bottle. These sessions included three active evolutions of 20 minutes with 20 minutes of rest between evolutions. The 20-minute active periods included:
Search and rescue operations, victim rescue and removal, and a hose deployment in a two-story burn building (not heated or smoked).
Once the group had completed burn building tasks, they executed a consumption course for the remainder of the 20-minute period.
The consumption course included:
- Drive Keiser sled with dead blow hammer
- Unroll then roll a 50ft section of 3” fire hose
- Hoist 50 lb weight to the top of three Connex boxes, hand over hand, up and down
- Carrying the 50ft of 2 ½” hose bundle to the top of the training tower and back down
- Drag a large truck tire attached to a section of 2 ½” hose a total of 75ft on concrete.
- Crawl through a 36” 20ft long plastic pipe
Rehab/Recovery
Upon completion of the 20-minute exercise, the firefighters removed PPE, unzipped bunker gear and rehabbed in a shaded trailer for 10 minutes either cooling with CoolMitt™ devices or without. Water was provided and available to all without restriction. After 10 minutes of cooling or non-cooling rehab, the firefighters geared back up, changed bottles and went back into the burn building to begin their next 20-minute session.
