Single and Repeat Ischemic Preconditioning Unable to Modify Cold Induced Vasodilation or Cold Air Finger Skin Temperatures and Manual Dexterity Supplemental Tables S1-S3 and Figure S1.

This study sought to determine if a single and/or five ischemic preconditioning exposures could: (1) improve peripheral skin temperatures and microvascular flow and therefore improve manual dexterity during 0°C cold air exposure, (2) modify the neural-mediated CIVD response to cold water immersion and the hyperemic rewarming response, and (3) influence thermal comfort, thermal sensation, and cold pain experienced in the hands during exposure to cold air and water. We hypothesized that: (1) five IPC exposures, but not a single exposure, would increase finger and hand skin temperatures as well as cutaneous vascular conductance (CVC) lending to improved manual dexterity performance in cold air, (2) a single and five repeated IPC exposures would augment the CIVD response to cold water immersion and improve the extent of rewarming, and (3) a single and five repeated IPC exposures would reduce the experience of cold pain and improve thermal comfort during both cold air and water immersion.