2007, Piran, Slovenia

Environmental Ergonomics XII
Igor B. Mekjavic, Stelios N. Kounalakis & Nigel A.S. Taylor (Eds.), © BIOMED, Ljubljana 2007
EXERCISE-MEDIATED INCREASE IN FINGER TEMPERATURE
DURING COLD EXPOSURE
Catherine O’Brien 1 , Caroline R. Mahoney 2 and John W. Castellani 1
1 Thermal and Mountain Medicine Division, U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental
Medicine, Natick, MA, USA
2 Science and Technology Directorate, Natick Soldier Research and Development Center,
Natick, MA, USA
Contact person: kate.obrien@us.army.mil
INTRODUCTION
Exercise is effective for increasing finger temperature (Tf) during cold exposure, but the
increase in Tf may be delayed when body core temperature is reduced. The purpose of this
study was to test the hypothesis that a similar exercise bout is effective for increasing finger
temperatures in cold air under both normothermic and hypothermic conditions.
METHODS
Ten subjects completed trials when normothermic (CON) and hypothermic (HYP). HYP was
induced by chest-deep immersion in water at a temperature (10-16ºC, according to body
composition) that reduced rectal temperature (Tre) to 35.5ºC in 90 min. Subjects then
completed sedentary tasks for ~30 min in cold air (10ºC), followed by a self-paced cycle
ergometer task (EX; 3 kJ / kg body weight).
RESULTS
At the start of EX, Tre was lower (p