Abstract
PurposeThis study aims to test the effects of Celliant armbands on grip strength in subjects with chronic wrist and elbow pain. Celliant® is a functional textile fabric containing minerals that emit infrared radiation (IR) in response to body heat. IR-emitting fabrics have biological effects including the reduction of pain and inflammation and the stimulation of muscle function.Design/methodology/approachA randomized placebo-controlled trial recruited 80 subjects (40 per group) with a six-month history of chronic wrist or elbow pain (carpal tunnel syndrome, epicondylitis or arthritis) to wear an armband (real Celliant or placebo fabric) on the affected wrist or elbow for two weeks. Grip strength was measured by a dynamometer before and after the two-week study.FindingsFor the placebo group, the mean grip strength increased from 47.95 ± 25.14 (baseline) to 51.69 ± 27.35 (final), whereas for the Celliant group, it increased from 46.3 ± 22.02 to 54.1 ± 25.97. The mean per cent increase over the two weeks was +7.8% for placebo and +16.8% for Celliant (p = 0.0372). No adverse effects was observed.Research limitations/implicationsLimitations include the wide variation in grip strength in the participants at baseline measurement, which meant that only the percentage increase between baseline and final measurements showed a significant difference. Moreover, no subjective measurements of pain or objective neurophysiology testes was done.Practical implicationsCelliant armbands are easy to wear and have not been shown to produce any adverse effects. Therefore, there appears to be no barrier to prevent widespread uptake.Social implicationsIR-emitting textiles have been studied for their beneficial effects, both in patients diagnosed with various disorders and also in healthy volunteers for health and wellness purposes. Although there are many types of textile technology that might be used to produce IR-emitting fabrics, including coating of the fabric with a printed layer of ceramic material, incorporating discs of mineral into the garment, the authors feel that incorporating ceramic particles into the polymer fibers from which the fabric is woven is likely to be the most efficient way of achieving the goal.Originality/valueCelliant armbands appear to be effective in painful upper limb inflammatory disorders, and further studies are warranted. The mechanism of action is not completely understood, but the hypothesis that the emitted IR radiation is absorbed by nanostructured intracellular water provides some theoretical justification.
Highlights
The biological effects of infrared radiation (IR) (3–100 m m) that have been observed in both cellular and animal studies in the laboratory, and in human studies in vivo, have suggested that IR could be a promising therapeutic modality to treat certain medical conditions
A possible explanation for the biological effects that occur in tissue exposed to IR-emitting fabrics without any detectable temperature change, is that the IR radiation is selectively
Note: *p < 0.05 Celliant vs placebo absorbed by water molecules that are associated with ion channels within the cell Chronic wrist membranes (Yu et al, 2006)
Summary
The biological effects of infrared radiation (IR) (3–100 m m) that have been observed in both cellular and animal studies in the laboratory, and in human studies in vivo, have suggested that IR could be a promising therapeutic modality to treat certain medical conditions (reviewed in Vatansever and Hamblin, 2012). The IR wavelength is too long to be perceived by the human eye, the body experiences its energy as a gentle radiant heat which can penetrate over 1.5 inches (4 cm) beneath the skin (Yu et al, 2006). In the IR radiation bands, wavelengths between 3 and 20 m m transfer electromagnetic energy that can be perceived by the thermoreceptors in the human skin as radiant heat (Sheppard et al, 2008). This is principally because these wavelengths are absorbed by water molecules in cells and tissues leading to an increase in the molecular vibrations. The prolonged erythermal response from IR exposure has been proposed to be because of increasing the epidermal temperature, but levels of IR that do not produce any detectable skin heating can have biological effects
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