These data suggest that cold acclimation does not enhance hand temperature or function but may put the hands at a greater risk of cold injury when exposed to the cold.

Most acclimation research is performed on resting individuals, whereas in real life, cold exposure is often accompanied by physical activity. We examined the effects of 2 weeks of repeated cold exposure of the hand with or without an elevated core temperature from exercise on neuromuscular function of the first dorsal interosseus (FDI) muscle and manual performance of the hand. The experimental group (4 female, 6 male; age, 25.1 +/- 6.9 y) cooled their hands in 8 degrees C water for 30 min daily while cycling (50% of heart rate reserve); the control group (4 female, 4 male; age, 25.1 +/- 5.7 y) remained still. Manual function testing consisted of tactile sensitivity, grip strength, manual dexterity, and evoked twitch force in a custom-made myograph. Thermal sensation, skin temperature of index finger (Tif) and hand (Tfdi), as well as rectal temperature (Tre), were recorded daily. Tre increased significantly during bicycling, by 0.6 +/- 0.2 degrees C. Minimal Tif and Tfdi of the groups combined increased significantly during exposure days from 8.7 +/- 0.7 degrees C and 12.4 +/- 2.8 degrees C to 10.1 +/- 1.3 degrees C and 15.0 +/- 3.0 degrees C, respectively (p=0.04), with no significant difference between groups. Thermal ratings improved significantly on exposure days. Manual function was impaired with cooling, but with no significant difference between groups or across time. Deterioration of twitch characteristics with cooling did not change with repeated cold exposure. Although the increasing core temperature during cold water immersion changed the acute temperature response and thermal ratings, it had no effect on local cold acclimation or manual function.

We investigated the role of central and peripheral factors in repeated cold exposure of the hand and their effects on temperature response, neuromuscular function, and subjective thermal sensation. Eleven subjects immersed their left hand repeatedly in 8 degrees C cold water for 30 min, 5 d/week, for 2 weeks. Before and following the 2 weeks of exposure, neuromuscular function, blood markers, thermal sensation, and temperature responses of both acclimated (left) and control (right) hands were tested. Minimum index finger temperature pre-acclimation was 10.9 +/- 3.4 degrees C and 10.0 +/- 2.0 degrees C in the left and right hand, respectively, and did not change significantly post-acclimation (left, 12.8 +/- 4.2 degrees C; right, 10.2 +/- 1.1 degrees C). Neuromuscular function was impaired with cooling, but this was significantly different neither between the hands nor over time. Central factors, measured by catecholamines and changes in temperature and cardiovascular response over time, did not change and there were no differences in responses between the exposed and non-exposed hand over time (peripheral adaptation) nor were there any differences in local factors endothelial-1 and nitric oxide. Subjective thermal comfort was improved and the discrepancy that was found between the change in actual and perceived temperature may increase the risk of cold injury in partially acclimatized individuals, owing to an adjustment in behavioural thermoregulation.

We investigated whether cyclic elevations in index finger temperature (cold-induced vasodilatation, CIVD) during prolonged cold exposure correlated with hand temperature and neuromuscular function. Evoked twitch force of the first dorsal interosseus (FDI) muscle was measured every minute in eight males and four females [age 25.4 (5.7) years, mean (SD)] during cooling of the hand for 30 min in 9 degrees C water, and in thermoneutral 30 degrees C water. During cooling, index finger temperature increased from 9.4 (0.9) degrees C at the nadir to 13.3 (2.4) degrees C (P<0.01) at the apex of the CIVD. However, the minimum skin temperature above the FDI muscle was 14.2 (2.1) degrees C, with no CIVD detected in any of the subjects. Peak twitch force was 2.5 (0.7) N at the nadir of the finger CIVD and 2.0 (0.8) N at the apex (P=0.07), time-to-peak increased from 189 (18) ms to 227 (26) ms (P<0.01), and half relaxation time increased from 135 (14) ms to 183 (32) ms (P<0.01). We conclude that CIVD is a local phenomenon isolated to the fingers, and that it does not have beneficial effects on either temperature or neuromuscular function of the FDI muscle during cold exposure.