In 25 hijab-wearing female futsal players doing repeated 30-m shuttle sprints in hot-dry indoor heat, neck cooling, alone or with a menthol mouth rinse, made mean and best sprint times faster than placebo and lowered thermal sensation and RPE, while a menthol rinse alone gave only a small gain in mean sprint time; heart rate and rectal temperature did not differ between conditions (randomised crossover, effect sizes not in the abstract)

Jafari and Borujeni asked whether a menthol mouth rinse, neck cooling, or both help female futsal players who wear a sports hijab during repeated sprinting in the heat, on the premise that the hijab may add to heat strain.

Twenty-five players completed four randomised crossover trials in a hot-dry indoor room (about 34 °C, 20-30% humidity): placebo, menthol rinse, neck cooling, and neck cooling with menthol rinse. Each trial was a 10 × 30-m out-and-back sprint test with a sprint every 30 s.

Neck cooling, alone or combined, made mean and best sprint times faster than placebo; the menthol rinse alone made mean sprint time slightly faster (p = 0.045) but not best sprint time. All three active conditions lowered the fatigue index.

Neck cooling, alone or combined, lowered thermal sensation, thermal comfort ratings and RPE and reduced sweat loss, while heart rate and rectal temperature did not differ between conditions.

The authors conclude that neck cooling helps repeated sprinting and lowers perceived thermal strain in this population, that menthol gives smaller benefits, and that combining the two is broadly comparable to neck cooling alone.