Effects of sauna on muscle strength in amateur boxer in Khon Kaen University

Abstract

 Sauna is one of the common methods used for weight reduction among boxers. However the effect of sauna on muscle strength is controversy. The purpose of this study was to verify the effect of sauna on muscle strength. Twenty-two amateur boxers of Khon Kaen University, aged 22.24?2.67 years old, voluntarily participated in this study. They were measured for grip strength using a hand grip dynamometer before and after the sauna (15 minutes sit in a sauna room at 60-70?C and 5-25% rh). Paired t-test revealed that there was no statistical significance between the grip strength before and after the sauna (44.20?6.60 and 43.43?7.23 kg: p=0.349). We concluded that exposing to sauna for a short period of time may not affect muscle strength. In addition, further studies on factors affecting the weight reduction by sauna were also suggested.