title: Theoretical modeling of time-dependent skin temperature and heat losses during whole-body cryotherapy: A pilot study.
abstract: This article establishes the basics of a theoretical model for the constitutive law that describes the skin temperature and thermolysis heat losses undergone by a subject during a session of whole-body cryotherapy (WBC). This study focuses on the few minutes during which the human body is subjected to a thermal shock. The relationship between skin temperature and thermolysis heat losses during this period is still unknown and have not yet been studied in the context of the whole human body. The analytical approach here is based on the hypothesis that the skin thermal shock during a WBC session can be thermally modelled by the sum of both radiative and free convective heat transfer functions. The validation of this scientific approach and the derivation of temporal evolution thermal laws, both on skin temperature and dissipated thermal power during the thermal shock open many avenues of large scale studies with the aim of proposing individualized cryotherapy protocols as well as protocols intended for target populations. Furthermore, this study shows quantitatively the substantial imbalance between human metabolism and thermolysis during WBC, the explanation of which remains an open question.
authors.affiliation: GRESPI, Research Group in Engineering Sciences, University of Reims, France. Electronic address: Guillaume.polidori@univ-reims.fr.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Polidori
authors.affiliation: Cryotherapy Pole, Reims, France.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Marreiro
authors.affiliation: GRESPI, Research Group in Engineering Sciences, University of Reims, France.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Pron
authors.affiliation: GRESPI, Research Group in Engineering Sciences, University of Reims, France.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lestriez
authors.affiliation: Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Department, Reims University Hospital, Reims, France.
authors.forename: F C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Boyer
authors.affiliation: Regional Training Institute, Reims University Hospital, Reims, France.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Quinart
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Reims University Hospital, Reims, France.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tourbah
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Sports Science, University of Reims, France.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Taïar
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001830:Body Surface Area; D001833:Body Temperature Regulation; D003080:Cold Temperature; D017679:Cryotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012879:Skin Physiological Phenomena; D012881:Skin Temperature; D013997:Time Factors