Athletic girdles have been developed to support the groin, hamstring, and quadriceps muscle groups, to act as a muscle conditioner, to keep muscles warm and to fight muscle fatigue. Athletes' comfort perceptions and athletic performance were compared using a prototype girdle, a girdle currently being used by the university football team, and a non-girdle. Six male volunteers, all physically trained football coaches, served as test subjects. A Repeated Measures Latin Square Design was used for the eighteen 20-minute test sessions on a Stainnaster vertical climbing machine. Skin temperature, perceived comfort, athletic performance, and pre- and post-exercise muscle circumference measures were the independent variables. Both girdles maintained a higher skin temperature during exercise and cool down than the non-girdle. The prototype was rated more favorably than the other girdle for several of the comfort descriptors. No significant difference in athletic performance between garment treatments was found.
Buskirk, E.R. & Bass, D.E. (1980). Climate and Exercise. In W. R. Johnson, & E. R. Buskirk, (Eds.), Structural and Physiological Aspects of Exercise andSport (pp. 190-205). Princeton, NJ: Princeton Book Co.
2.
Cooter, G.R., Cundiff, D.E., & Courtney, P. (1975). Do long hair and football uniforms impair heat loss? The Physician and Sportsmedicine, 3(2), 55-58.
3.
Cooper, D.L., & Fair, J. (1978). Hamstring strains. Physician and Sportsmedicine, 6(8), 104.
4.
Cooper, D.L., & Fair, J. (1976). Girdle may stir giggles, but it helps. Physician and Sportsmedicine, 4(1), 113.
5.
Hollies, N.R.S. (1977). Psychological scaling in comfort assessment. In N. R. S. Hollies & R. F. Goldman (Eds.). Clothing Comfort (pp. 53-68). Ann Arbor, MI: Ann Arbor Science.
Kulund, D.N. (1988). The Injured Athlete (2nd ed.). Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Co.
8.
Reagan, E. (1990). Examining the moisture managers. Outside Business, 15(4), 37-46.
9.
Unitas, J., & Dintiman, G. (1979). Improving Health and Performance in the Athlete . Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall .
10.
Watkins, S.M. (1984). Clothing: The Portable Environment. Ames: Iowa State University Press.
11.
Zemper, E.D. (1989). Injury rates in a national sample of college football teams: a 2-year prospective study. The Physician and Sportsmedicine , 17, 100.
12.
Zylks, D.R. (1989). Prevention of anterior thigh contusions in contact sports. Athletic Training, 24(1), 45.
