Maintaining Finger Dexterity in the Cold: A Comparison of Passive, Direct and Indirect Hand Heating Methods.

摘要

Examined finger dexterity performance and extremity comfort during cold exposure while an attempt was made to prevent or minimize hand cooling by either passive hand insulation (thin, knitted gloves and Arctic mitts), direct hand heating (electrically heated gloves), or indirect hand heating (heating the torso in an attempt to increase blood flow to the hands) with and without gloves. Eight male subjects were exposed to -25 deg C air (wind (caret) 2 km/h) for three hours. A three-layer, Arctic clothing ensemble was worm during all experiments. Finger temperature, finger blood flow, toe temperature, rectal temperature, and finger dexterity were measured. Indirect hand heating was found to be superior to passive and direct hand heating because not only was finger comfort and finger dexterity maintained, but the whole body (toes included) remained comfortable for the full three-hour session. In addition, with indirect hand heating, fine finger dexterity tasks can be performed barehanded, if necessary, without the risk of cold injury.