Infrared Thermography for the Diagnosis of Musculoskeletal Pain

The Contribution and Validity of Infrared Thermography in the Diagnosis of Musculoskeletal Pain

Status

Completed

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Observational

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT04097249

Enrollment

Registered

2019-09-20

Start date

2015-10-01

Completion date

2016-04-30

Last updated

2019-09-20

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Healthy, Pain, Temperature Change, Body

Keywords

Musculoskeletal pain, Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, Pain sensitivity, Infrared thermography, Referred pain

Brief summary

This study sought to evaluate the vasomotor response in the pain referral area of healthy individuals, performing the same procedure with and without the experience of delayed onset muscle soreness.

Detailed description

Validity of infrared thermography for properly diagnosing musculoskeletal pain and their clinical applicability is lacking. This study investigates temperature changes on the upper extremity before and after a suprathreshold stimulation (painful stimulus) with a digital algometer over the infraspinatus muscle. The same procedure is performed in two consecutive days, 24 hours apart (Day-1 and Day-2). At the end of Day-1, an eccentric exercise is performed in order to to induce delayed onset muscle soreness on the external rotators of the shoulder.

Interventions

None listed

Study design

Observational model

CASE_CROSSOVER

Time perspective

CROSS_SECTIONAL

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to 65 Years

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

* Being healthy and free from any pain specific to the upper limbs and/or in general.

Exclusion criteria

* Previous history of chronic pain. * Any systemic diseases or regional pathology which can interfere with the outcome measures.

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Changes in temperature of pixels on the upper extremity: infrared thermography	Day-1 (baseline assessment, pre exercise before painful stimulus), Day-1 (baseline assessment, pre exercise after painful stimulus), Day-2 (24 hours post-exercise before painful stimulus), Day-2 (24 hours post-exercise after painful stimulus)	A thermography image of the upper extremity of the body will be taken on both days of assessment before and after applying a painful stimulus. Changes in colour pixels will be analysed to determine temperature changes.

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Changes in Pressure Pain Thresholds: pressure algometry	Day-1 (baseline assessment, pre exercise before painful stimulus), Day-2 (24 hours post-exercise before painful stimulus)	Changes in pressure pain thresholds will be determined with pressure algometry over the infraspinatus muscle. Pressure Pain Threshold is defined as the exact time point where the pressure is first being perceived as painful.

Outcome results