The Effect of Two Sock Fabrics on Physiological Parameters Associated with Blister Incidence: A Laboratory Study

The goal of the present study was to investigate physiological effects, mainly at the level of the foot, of two sock fabrics with distinct moisture properties. Twelve participants wore two different socks, one on each foot. The following two sock types were used: PP: 99.6% polypropylene and 0.4% elastane and BLEND: 50% Merino wool, 33% polypropylene, and 17% polyamide. The participants walked three times on a treadmill at 5 km h−1, with no gradient for the first and third phase and a 10% upward inclination for the second walking phase. The microclimate temperature between the boot and foot was measured during walking. Preceding and following the walking phases, additional measurements were carried out at the level of the foot, i.e. skin temperature and skin hydration on three locations and skin friction between the posterior surface of the calcaneus and a glass plate. In addition, the moisture absorption of boots and socks was determined. Differences between the sock fabrics were found for weight gain and microclimate temperature: (i) PP tended to hold less water compared to BLEND, (ii) the boot's microclimate temperature resulted in larger values for BLEND measured at the dorsal surface at the level of the third metatarsal, and (iii) warmer microclimates of the boot were measured for PP compared to BLEND at the distal anterior end of the tibia. The established differences in moisture behavior of both socks did not result in detectable differences in parameters measured on the skin of the foo

Final report of Working Group 4: Ergonomics of thermal effects. A COST Action TU1101 / HOPE collaboration

The thermal effects related to wearing a bicycle helmet are complex and different studies have investigated single parts of this topic. A literature review was produced and published (Bogerd et al., 2015) summarizing the different findings to give a complete overview on this topic as well as to suggest new perspectives. Headgear increases head insulation and therefore is mainly problematic under warm conditions, which is the focus of that review. Helmets do not affect physiological parameters other than the local skin temperature and sweat rate. However, the head is among the most sensitive body parts related to thermal comfort, thereby directly affecting the willingness to wear headgear. Several methods have been used to study thermal aspects of headgear, which could be categorized as (i) numerical, (ii) biophysical, (iii) combined numerical and biophysical, and (iv) user trials. The application of these methods established that heat transfer mainly takes place through radiation and convection. Headgear parameters relevant to these heat transfer pathways are reviewed and suggestions are provided for improving existing headgear concepts and developing new concepts, ultimately leading to more accepted headgear. The report of working group 4 (WG4) provides information about activities undertaken during the COST Action TU1101 “Towards safer bicycling through optimization of bicycle helmets and usage” to better understand the ergonomics of thermal aspects and to work towards the tasks defined in the memorandum of understanding (COST Secretariat, 2011). Primary Task 5: Development of guidelines for thermally-optimized helmet designs Secondary Task 3: Inform impact studies on which kinds of ventilation structures are useful and which are unnecessary Secondary Task 7: Review of physiological and comfort effect of wearing bicycle helmets All the chapters listed below include important aspects contributing to the primary task 5. Modelling and simulation tools (Chapter II) are becoming more and more important in research and development of new bicycle helmets but also in the development of guidelines, directives and norms. An example for the industrial application of models is given in Chapter III. The investigation of different forms of helmet coverings provides important information about the future direction for the development of helmet designs. Completely new helmet designs and the respective thermal properties are presented in Chapter IV. This chapter shows a different approach for finding new concepts of helmet designs. In Chapter V, new project initiatives are introduced to improve thermal aspects of helmets but also to include information and communication techniques (ICT) into helmets. Finally, the tasks of WG4 are summarized in Chapter VI, conclusions are drawn and an outlook is provided regarding the future development of helmets to comply with the requests of two-wheel commuters (including e-bikes, segway and others)