More than just warmth - The perception of warmth and relaxation through warming compresses

Abstract Objectives To differentiate the effect of ginger and mustard as warming ingredients from the effect of calmness & attentiveness and thermal warmth in chest compress application. Design & setting In an exploratory, controlled, single-blinded study, we compared the effect of ginger and mustard in healthy adults. Interventions Participants received four different chest compress types over four weeks: simple dry, hot water, with ginger powder and with mustard flour. Outcome measures The somatic and psychological experience of the participants was collected through psychometric measurements (list of somatic complaints (B-L), questionnaire on mental state (MDBF), 5-point-rating scale (RS) containing eight questions on the experience of relaxation and warmth) and was further complemented through qualitative interview data. Results Participants (15 female and 15 male) ranged between 21-36 years (M = 27). No significant changes in the B-L could be found. The MDBF found significant change towards calmness after every application (P  Conclusions Ginger and mustard induced a strong and lasting response on perceived distribution of warmth and relaxation. Compound effect quality could be differentiated: mustard triggered a strong relaxing effect after the intervention and ginger a warmth quality that spread throughout the body.