Thermogram of hands of diabetic patient
How can thermography be used for athletes?
Thermography is a great tool to use to find areas of inflammation in the body, and can be important for the management and treatment of sports related injuries. By detecting signs of inflammation before symptoms arise, thermography may be able to warn of an impending injury. With this technology, it can help assess post-injury healing and can be of use to determine when an athlete may or may not be field ready as well as monitor and warn athletes from over training tissues and joints.
Thermogram of patient with left knee trauma
Thermogram of patient with thoracic outlet syndrome
What can thermography be used for?
There are many areas where thermography can help you and your doctor to discover a health condition along with monitoring your treatment. The following list are just some of the conditions that have associated infrared signals:
- Altered gait manifestations
- Arteriosclerosis (peripheral)
- Brachial Plexus Injury
- Breast Disease
- Bursitis
- Carotid Artery Stenosis
- Carpal Tunnel syndrome
- Chronic pain
- Compartment Syndromes
- Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)
- Dental Irritation/Inflammation
- Diabetes (secondary complications)
- Disc Syndromes (spinal discogenic pain)
- Facet Syndrome
- Fibromyalgia
- Headache evaluation (e.g. cervicogenic, migraine, sinus)
- Herniated Disc/Ruptured Disc
- Hypersthesia
- Hyperesthesia
- Inflammation
- Intervertebral Disc Disease
- Ligament Tears
- Lumbosacral Plexus Injury
- Muscle Spasm
- Muscle Tears
- Myofascial Irritation
- Nerve Entrapment
- Nerve Impingement/Pressure
- Nerve Root Irritation
- Nerve Stretch Injury
- Neuritis
- Neuropathy
- Neurovascular Compression
- Osteoarthritis
- Paresthesia
- Peripheral Nerve Abnormalities
- Pinched Nerves
- Referred Pain Syndromes
- Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD)
- Repetitive Strain Injuries
- Raynaud’s Disease
- Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Sacroiliac Ligament Tear
- Sacroiliac Syndrome
- Sensory Nerve Abnormalities
- Sinus Irritation/Inflammation
- Skin Conditions
- Soft Tissue Injury
- Spinal Cord Injury
- Sports Injuries
- Strain/Sprains
- Superficial Vascular Disease
- Synovitis
- Temporal Arteritis
- Tendonitis
- Thoracic Outlet Syndrome
- Thyroid Conditions
- TMJ Dysfunction (TMD)
- Trigeminal Neuralgia
- Trigger Points
- Whiplash Conditions
- And Many More….
Sources: Index Medicus- J Thermology, Acta Thermographica, J Breast
Thermogram of legs of patient with rheumatoid arthritis
What thermography can't be used for
Thermography can be used for a wide variety of health related things, but are there areas or certain health related problems that thermography cannot be used for? Of course, with any type of imaging there are pros and cons. Thermography cannot be used as a “body scan” to search for internal cancers, skin cancer, metastasis (the spread of cancer) or internal organ pathologies.