Anatomy-Physiotherapy-logo

  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Français (France)
  • Portuguese (PT)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • Spanish (ES)
  • English (UK)
New english website, click here ->

           

  • Articles
    Evidence based articles
    • Musculoskeletal
      • Upper extremity
      • Lower extremity
      • Spine
    • Other
      • Nervous
      • Circulatory
      • Nutrition
      • Aging
      • Pain
      • Various
  • Art & Design
    Anatomy related art
  • Videos
    Webinars & more
  • Create account
    Personal pages & favourites
  • Login
    Login to A&P
Anatomy-Physiotherapy-logo
14 Jan2014

14 January 2014.

Written by Petra Juffer
Posted in Aging

Written by Petra Juffer14-01-2014 08:30:00. Posted in Aging

Older individuals do not perform as well as younger persons in colder temperatures (Image by: thejournal.co.uk)

Interactions between cold ambient temperature and older age on haptic acuity and manual performance

Winter’s cold ambient temperatures can be dangerous, particularly in the elderly. A reduced ability to perceive and react to cold stress elicits physical risk. Significant reductions in perceptual accuracy may result in frustrating delays and errors. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of exposure to cold ambient temperature on older persons’ haptic perceptual acuity and manual performance.   

Psychomotor performance was evaluated using various haptic psychomotor tests at room (23° C) and cold (1° C) ambient temperatures. Older persons reported the cold ambient temperature as less uncomfortable and both tests of haptic acuity as less demanding compared with younger persons. The cold temperature enhanced performances of the younger persons, but did not impact the older persons’ generally slower performances. However, the cold temperature slowed older persons and led them to generate significantly more force that in turn may be unfavorable to the manual actions of older persons in a number of ways. With higher force generation, movement variability may increase, which can lead to frustrations, fatigue, and repetitive strain injury, as well as to incidents that are potentially dangerous.   

The authors suggest that the impact of cold exposure seems to lie in motor output. It may be that cold exposure impacts the properties of efferent nerve conduction, vasoconstriction, and/or joint mechanics in older persons. Further research on the impact of cold ambient temperature will contribute to developing strategies to assist older persons in daily performance. > From: Tajmir et al., Can J Aging 32 (2013) 195-202. All rights reserved to Canadian Association on Gerontology 2013. 

Visit the PubMed summary for more information or your article access.

Cold weather may influence the activities of older persons during the winter months
(Image by: mirror.co.uk)

Tags: aging, Motor skills, Cold, Psychomotor performance, Haptic performance

Please log in or create an account to place comments. It's free and takes only a minute.

About the Author
Petra Juffer

Latest articles from this auhtor

  • Targeting Anabolic Impairment in Response to Resistance Exercise in Older Adults with Mobility Impairments: Potential Mechanisms and Rehabilitation Approaches.
  • Effects of balance training using a virtual-reality system in older fallers
  • Abnormal protein turnover and anabolic resistance to exercise in sarcopenic obesity.
  • Deficits in physical function among young childhood cancer survivors.
  • Foot posture, foot function and low back pain: the Framingham Foot Study.
 

 

Login

  • Forgot your password?
  • Forgot your username?
  • Create an account
AP banner Sono 1

Related

  • Differences in gait characteristics between total hip, knee, and ankle arthroplasty patients: a six-month postoperative comparison.
  • Differences in axial segment reorientation during standing turns predict multiple falls in older adults.
  • Effects of balance training using a virtual-reality system in older fallers
  • Effects of aqua aerobic therapy exercise for older adults on muscular strength, agility and balance to prevent falling during gait.
  • Prediction of risk of falling, physical disability, and frailty by rate of decline in grip strength: the women's health and aging study.

Sub Menu

  • Musculoskeletal
    • Upper extremity
      • Shoulder
      • Elbow
      • Wrist
      • Hand
    • Lower extremity
      • Hip
      • Knee
      • Ankle
      • Foot
    • Spine
      • Pelvis
      • Lumbar
      • Thoracic
      • Rib cage
      • Cervical
  • Other
    • Nervous
    • Circulatory
    • Nutrition
    • Aging
    • Pain
    • Various

Newsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to receive all articles of the week in your mailbox.

 

Partners

enraf nonius

apa

fontys

vpt

kiné care

ICMSU

  • Home
  • About
  • Team
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy
  • Jobs
  • Newsletter archive
AP-SMALL-WHITECopyright 2010 - 2021 Anatomy & Physiotherapy. All Rights Reserved.

Privacy Policy

AdBlock detected

We want to keep offering top-notch content for free. In order to keep up with the additional costs that we incurr with scaling our website, we need your help! Please turn off your adblocker or consider donating a small amount.

http://www.anatomy-physiotherapy.com/donate

Close
You can also just close this popup. It shows only once.
isApp.it
  • Articles
    Evidence based articles
    • Musculoskeletal
      • Upper extremity
        • Shoulder
        • Elbow
        • Wrist
        • Hand
      • Lower extremity
        • Hip
        • Knee
        • Ankle
        • Foot
      • Spine
        • Pelvis
        • Lumbar
        • Thoracic
        • Rib cage
        • Cervical
    • Other
      • Nervous
      • Circulatory
      • Nutrition
      • Aging
      • Pain
      • Various
  • Art & Design
    Anatomy related art
  • Videos
    Webinars & more
  • Create account
    Personal pages & favourites
  • Login
    Login to A&P
You are now being logged in using your Facebook credentials