Peripheral skin temperature effects on muscle oxygen levels

In both hot and cold environments, tissue oxygen saturation levels may affect muscle performance. Using near-infrared spectroscopy, muscle oxygen saturation (StO2) and total hemoglobin levels were measured during exercise. Lowering skin temperature caused a greater StO2 and total hemoglobin decrease by 16% and 15.9%, respectively, compared to controls. Increasing skin temperature resulted in a smaller decrease in both StO2 and total hemoglobin by 12.2% and 8.2%, respectively, compared to controls. These data indicate that warming the skin will cause less of decrease in StO2 and total hemoglobin, while cooling the skin has the opposite effect.