| Keywords |
Local cold tolerance; Self-identified cold tolerance; Cold-induced vasodilation; Cold protective gloves; Finger dexterity test |
| Abstract |
We investigated a relationship between self-identified cold tolerance and hand cold tolerance while wearing a single glove under cold stress. Twenty seven young adults (24 females and 3 males) participated in a hand dexterity test using a Purdue Pegboard and a finger cold-induced vasodilation (CIVD) test in a 3.6oC water at an air temperature of 5.6 ± 0.2oC. All subjects were divided into either a cold-tolerant (High self-identified cold tolerance, HSCT, 11 subjects) or intolerant group (Low self-identified cold tolerance, LSCT, 16 subjects) according to their self-identification.
The results showed that (1) the HSCT group showed higher finger temperatures during the finger CIVD test than the LSCT group (p<0.05), (2) there was no significant difference in mean skin temperature between two groups, but hand and finger temperatures were higher for the HSCT than the LSCT (p<0.05), (3) heart rate showed more stable tendency during the CIVD test for the HSCT group compared to the LSCT group, (4) the HSCT group expressed less cold, less uncomfortable, and less painful while the CIVD test when compared to the LSCT group (p<0.05), and (5) hand dexterity under cold stress reduced by 27% for the bare hand condition and 13% for the gloved hand condition (p<0.001), with no difference between HSCT and LSCT. To sum up, wearing a single glove under cold stress was beneficial to improve another bare hand’s dexterity and the beneficial effect of wearing the single glove was greater for the self-identified cold-tolerant individuals than for intolerant individuals. |