Skin health for close-contact athletes

Protect the skin. Protect the season.

A low-pH, head-to-toe cleansing option designed to support the skin's natural barrier - where wrestling's closest contact begins.

Hear from Duke's athletic trainer Explore the evidence

All sales inquiries

Hernando Tamayo

Area Sales Manager, Avadim Health

847.732.5559 Hernando.Tamayo@AvadimHealth.com

Theraworx Protect is not a substitute for diagnosis, treatment, or your organization's infection-control policies.

From the training room

A season-level view from Duke Wrestling

Hear how a Division I athletic training program approached skin hygiene, athlete compliance, and time on the mat.

Watch the Duke athletic trainer video on YouTube

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Simple routines are easier to follow.

The evaluated protocol centered on consistent application before contact and again after post-practice or post-competition showering.

Why skin hygiene matters

Wrestling is built on contact

Close contact, abrasions, mat burns, shaving, taping, shared spaces, and long seasons all make a complete skin-health plan essential.

Skin first

Support the body's outer barrier

Healthy skin is naturally acidic. Theraworx Protect is formulated at pH 4.3-5.3 to support that environment.

Head to toe

One broad-use cleanser

Designed for total-body cleansing, including the face and other sensitive areas, without the stick, sting, or strong odor associated with some antiseptics.

Daily

Build consistency

A practical cleansing routine can complement mat cleaning, skin checks, prompt reporting, laundering, and medical evaluation.

The evaluated Duke protocol

A repeatable routine for the wrestling day

The attached Duke season evaluation described the following application pattern for its 24 participating athletes.

Before contact

Apply over the body before practice or competition as directed by the product and program protocol.

Shower and reapply

After practice or competition, shower promptly and complete the post-contact application.

Report skin concerns

Tell athletic training staff about suspicious lesions, abrasions, or irritation early and follow medical guidance.

Always follow the current product label, athletic department policy, governing-body rules, and clinician or athletic trainer direction. Do not cover or compete with a suspicious lesion unless medically cleared.

Duke program evaluation

What changed in the season comparison

The retrospective evaluation compared documented outcomes from the 2014-15 season with the 2015-16 season, when the Theraworx protocol was implemented.

57% to 0

Athletes with reported bacterial infection in the comparison seasons.

12 to 4

Athletes receiving antibiotic prescriptions.

20 to 0

Reported mat days lost to bacterial infection.

Read the result in context: this was a small, single-program, retrospective season comparison involving 24 wrestlers - not a randomized controlled trial. The results are encouraging but do not establish that the product alone caused the observed changes.

Formulation pH

4.3-5.3

Formulated to work with the skin's naturally acidic environment and support its antimicrobial barrier and defensive functions.

The skin science

Clean without stripping away the strategy

Theraworx Protect combines low-pH cleansing with surfactant, barrier-support, and preservative systems. The adult product brochure describes a non-irritating, head-to-toe formulation intended to cleanse, moisturize, and soothe.

Supports the skin's natural acidic environment
Cleanses without a sticky residue
Suitable for broad, head-to-toe application as directed

Evidence at a glance

Research across skin-cleansing settings

The supplied materials include an athlete program evaluation, a controlled antimicrobial comparison, and exploratory wound research.

Athletics

Duke Wrestling season comparison

Among 24 wrestlers, the season using the protocol reported fewer bacterial infections, antibiotic prescriptions, and infection-related lost mat days than the prior season.

Retrospective, single-team evaluation; causal conclusions cannot be drawn.

Peer reviewed

Compared with 4% CHG

In an 81-person noninferiority study, the tested colloidal-silver surfactant formulation was noninferior to 4% chlorhexidine gluconate at 10 minutes and 6 hours post-application.

Paulson et al., American Journal of Infection Control, 2018.

Exploratory

Chronic-wound poster study

In 20 patients receiving standard wound care plus Theraworx Protect, mean wound area and MMP-9 levels declined over four weeks. Biofilm findings were not statistically significant.

UNC/UF poster; small sample, no control group, funded in part by Avadim Health.

Make skin health part of the game plan.

Learn more at Theraworx Pro

Educational content for coaches, athletic trainers, athletes, and families. Theraworx Protect® is a registered trademark of its owner.