In the last decade there has been a growing interest in infrared thermography in the field of sports medicine in order to elucidate the mechanisms of thermoregulation. The aim of this study was to describe bilateral variations in skin temperature of the anterior thigh and patellar tendon in healthy athletes and to provide a model of baseline tendon and muscle thermoregulation in healthy sprinters following a unilateral isokinetic fatigue protocol. Fifteen healthy national-level sprinters (eleven men and four women), with at least 3 years of athletic training experience of 10–12 h/week and competing in national-level competitions, underwent unilateral isokinetic force testing and electrostimulation in which their body temperature was measured before, during, and after the protocol using an infrared thermographic camera. ANOVA detected a significant difference in the time × side interaction for patellar temperature changes (p ≤ 0.001) and a significant difference in the time/side interaction for quadriceps temperature changes (p ≤ 0.001). The thermal challenge produces homogeneous changes evident in quadriceps areas, but not homogeneous in tendon areas. These data show that metabolic and blood flow changes may depend on the physical and mechanical properties of each tissue. Future research could be conducted to evaluate the predictive value of neuromuscular fatigue in the patellar tendon and quadriceps after exercise in order to optimize post-exercise recovery strategies.

Introduction: Due to the possible impact of the thermoregulatory process on sports performance, it is necessary to explore the existing relationships between kinetic, mechanical, and physiological variables. The objective of this study was to evaluate metabolic stress using thermography in the lower limb after the Spanish Championship 2023 walk. Method: A descriptive study was carried out on national and international race walkers before and after the 2023 Spanish Championships. The participants performed different tests within the same circuit. Five walkers completed the long-distance race of 35 km, four walkers completed the middle-distance race of 20 km and finally, two walkers completed the short-distance race of 10 km. Result: Statistically significant changes were observed in the lower limbs of the walkers after completing the test. We observed a decrease in skin temperature in all the anatomical regions analyzed, except for the back of the leg. More specifically, the decrease was in the hip (−1.92 °C: p = 0.004), quadriceps, hamstrings (−1.23 °C: p = 0.002), and tibia (−1.23 °C: p = 0.030). However, in the posterior region of the leg, a significant increase in temperature was observed (+0.50 °C: p = 0.011) following the competition. Discussion and Conclusions: The findings in this descriptive investigation support the notion that thermography may serve as a useful tool in the acute analysis of muscle functional activation and metabolic response in professional marching athletes. Moreover, the results confirmed that the change in skin temperature is the result of a variation in acute metabolic and functional activation in the lower extremities of race walkers during competition, with infrared thermography representing an instrument capable of detecting such a change in a rapid and non-invasive manner.

In the last decade there has been a growing interest in infrared thermography in the field of sports medicine in order to elucidate the mechanisms of thermoregulation. The aim of this study was to describe bilateral variations in skin temperature of the anterior thigh and patellar tendon in healthy athletes, to provide a model of baseline tendon and muscle thermoregulation in healthy sprinters following a unilateral isokinetic fatigue protocol. Fifteen healthy national-level sprinters underwent unilateral isokinetic force testing and electrostimulation in which body temperature was measured before, during, and after the protocol using an infrared thermographic camera. ANOVA detected a significant difference in the time x side interaction for patellar temperature changes (p≤0.001) and a significant difference in the time x side interaction for quadriceps temperature changes (p≤0.001). The thermal challenge produces homogeneous changes evident in quadriceps areas, but not homogeneous in tendon areas. these data show that metabolic and blood flow changes may depend on the physical and mechanical properties of each tissue.

Introduction: Reliable objective and non-invasive assessments of myotendinous alterations in patients with muscle tone disorders secondary to brain damage represent an important challenge in health science. The aim of this study was to observe the relationship between the skin temperature and the functional response in the triceps suralis of hemiplegic patients in relation to the healthy control group. Methods: A descriptive observational study was conducted based on the STARD recommendations. A total of 26 volunteers, 13 participants with unilateral motor impairment and 13 healthy patients, participated and completed the study. Intragroup and intergroup clinical thermography tests were performed, and the results were compared in relation to the timed up and go test, pain threshold to pressure, and modified Ashworth scale. Results: Statistically relevant differences (p < 0.01) could be observed between the two groups in each test performed. Thermographic analysis revealed a difference in temperature between the healthy and affected sides in the inter- and intra-group comparisons. It was possible to observe statistically significant differences (p < 0.01) between limbs in the brain damage group (the side affected was at a lower temperature), while no such differences were observed between limbs in the healthy control group (p > 0.05). Conclusions: Our results confirmed that clinical thermography could be a potentially useful tool in the assessment of both structural and functional alterations of the musculoskeletal system in patients with chronic brain damage.