The effect of repeated mild cold water immersions on the adaptation of the vasomotor responses

Abstract

There are several types of cold adaptation based on the alteration of thermoregulatory response. It has been thought that the temperature of repeated cold exposures during the adaptation period is one of the factors affecting the type of cold adaptation developed. This study tested the hypothesis that repeated mild cold immersions would induce an insulative cold adaptation but would not alter the metabolic response. Seven healthy male participants were immersed to their xiphoid process level repeatedly in 26°C water for 60 min, 3 days every week, for 4 weeks. During the first and last exposure of this cold acclimation period, the participants underwent body immersion tests measuring their thermoregulatory responses to cold. Separately, they conducted finger immersion into 5°C water for 30 min to assess their cold-induced vasodilation (CIVD) response before and after cold acclimation. During the immersion to xiphoid process, participants showed significantly lower mean skin temperature and skin blood flow in the forearm post-acclimation, while no adaptation was observed in the metabolic response. Additionally, blunted CIVD responses were observed after cold acclimation. From these results, it was considered that the participants showed an insulative-type of cold acclimation after the repeated mild cold immersions. The major finding of this study was the acceptance of the hypothesis that repeated mild cold immersion was sufficient to induce insulative cold adaptation but did not alter the metabolic response. It is suggested that the adaptation in the thermoregulatory response is specific to the response which is repeatedly stimulated during the adaptation process.

Neuromuscular function during knee extension exercise after cold water immersion

“…We set 23, 26, and 34 °C water temperature as severe cold, mild cold, and thermoneutral condition, respectively. The 23 °C condition was cold enough to induce shivering, but in 26 °C, no significant shivering was observed as shown in the previous report [12]. At least 1 week before the first test, participants were accustomed to perform one leg knee extension exercise using a specially designed device (Fig.…”

“…The seasonal difference [5, 6], populations living in different climate [7–9], or people who work in cold work place [10, 11] have been studied for evaluating the cold acclimatization to the natural cold climate. On the other hand, cold acclimation studies have tested the change in physiological responses following a repeated cold exposure in a laboratory, mostly in resting condition [12, 13]. However, since human would have never acclimatized to cold alone without any physical activity, it is necessary to conduct a research assessing comprehensive effect of the physical activities in cold environment.…”

People who live in a cold climate: thermal adaptation differences based on availability of heating

“…When exposed to cold environments, the human body will respond with vasoconstriction to decrease core and skin temperatures, so as to reduce heat loss from core to periphery by convection, and heat loss form periphery to environment by radiation and convection. Previous studies showed that human skin and peripheral vasoconstriction were enhanced after repeated exposures to cold water (Jansky et al., ; Wakabayashi et al., ; Young et al., ). In this study, skin temperature of the Shanghai group decreased more quickly than that of the Beijing group(see Figure ), suggesting greater vasoconstriction in the Shanghai group.…”

Critical care at extremes of temperature: effects on patients, staff and equipment

“…The wearing of bulky gloves to minimise the effects of tactile insensitivity may further impede dexterity. Again, cold adaptation plays an important role—cold adaptation of the hands can lead to diminished local vasoconstriction which allows increased circulation and skin temperatures in hands; this cold-induced vasodilatation is known colloquially as ‘fisherman's hand’ 33. Unfortunately, this response is not universal among subjects nor can it be trained by repeated cold exposure 34 35.…”