Alex de Andrade Fernandes

Regional Skin Temperature Response to Moderate Aerobic Exercise Measured by Infrared Thermography

Background: Infrared thermography (IRT) does not require contact with the skin, and it is a convenient, reliable and non-invasive technique that can be used for monitoring the skin temperature (TSK). Objectives: The aim of this study was to monitor the variations in the regional TSK during exercise on 28 regions of interest (ROIs) (forehead, face, chest, abdomen, back, lumbar, anterior and posterior neck, and posterior and anterior views of the right and left hands, forearms, upper arms, thighs, and legs) with IRT. Patients and Methods: 12 physically active young males were monitored with IRT during the following three phases: a) 30 minutes before exercise b) while performing one hour of moderate intensity exercise on a treadmill at 60% of the VO2max, and c) 60 minutes after exercise. Results: During pre-exercise, all TSK reached a steady-state (P ≤ 0.05), which ensured adequate thermal stabilisation. At the beginning of exercise, there was a significant reduction in the TSK in most ROIs after 10 minutes of activity, except for the lower limbs (legs and thighs). After one hour of recovery, in the anterior view of the hands and thighs and in the posterior view of the legs, there were significant increases in the TSK compared to pre-exercise. Conclusions: There were significant distinctions in the skin temperature distribution during exercise according to the activity of the area under consideration during exercise, which may be important in the development of physiological models and heat flux analyses for different purposes.

Validade preditiva de equações de referência para força de preensão manual em homens brasileiros de meia idade e idosos

The objective of this study was to verify the predictive validity of reference equations for hand grip strength (HGS) in middle-aged and elderly Brazilian men. We evaluated 60 men with age of 58.7±8.6 years, height 168.7±8.0 cm, body mass 67.9±13.0 kg, and body mass index 23.7±4.0 kg/m2, utilizing the gold standard equipment for evaluation of HGS and following all methodological recommendations of the American Society of Hand Therapists (ASTH). The results of the Bland-Altman diagram for the dominant hand (DH) had a mean error (bias) of -8.4% (95%CI -51.6-34.7). The Bland-Altman diagram for the non-dominant hand (NDH) had a mean error (bias) of 1.4% (95%CI -47.1-49.8). The calculation of Cronbachs alpha was 0.69 for the DH and 0.59 for the NDH. The intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.52 (95%CI 31-68) for the DH and 0.42 (95%CI 20-60) for the NDH. We therefore conclude that the reference equations for HGS evaluated in this study has low predictive validity for a population of Brazilian men middle-aged and elderly, and may lead to a misinterpretation of the results.

The “FIFA 11+” warm-up programme for preventing injuries in soccer players: a systematic review

Introduction Soccer is among the sports with the highest injury rate. A group of international experts from the Federation Internationale de Football Association — FIFA’s Medical Assessment and Research Centre — have developed the “FIFA 11+”, a warm-up programme whose main goal is to reduce the risk of common injuries in both male and female soccer players. Objective To conduct a literature review in order to check the efficiency of the “FIFA 11 +” warm-up programme in preventing injuries in soccer players. Methods We conducted a systematic review of studies in the databases MEDLINE/PubMed, SciELO, ScienceDirect and SPORTDiscus, using the following keywords in combination with one another: “injury”, “prevention” and “warm-up”. Results Five studies met the inclusion criteria. In four studies, the authors conclude that the “FIFA 11 +” warm-up programme is effective for preventing injuries in soccer players. In one study, this protective effect was not observed. Conclusion The analyzed studies indicate that the FIFA 11+ warm-up programme for the prevention of sports injuries show positive signs that the use of the programme may help reduce the incidence of injuries in girls aged 13–17 years. In a male children population the results are inconclusive and further research is needed.

Daily rhythm of skin temperature of women evaluated by infrared thermal imaging

It is well known that skin temperature varies due to circadian rhythm. Although there is information available for men, little is known about womens circadian rhythm in the analysis of skin temperature (Tsk) using infrared thermography. The objective of this study is to identify Tsk variations on different body regions in women through infrared thermography during the day. The sample consisted of 20 female (mean age of 20.5 ± 1.3 years, body weight of 62.2 ± 9.2kg and height of 165.0 ± 4.7cm). Oneway ANOVA for repeated measures, and Cosinor analysis was used to determine the MESOR, amplitude and acrophase of Tsk. The regions of the forearm, upper arm and anterior and posterior legs in the lower limbs, as well as the chest and scapulae in the upper limbs showed higher variability throughout the day. In general, distal regions had lower values compared with the central regions, and the pectoral region had the lowest standard deviation values. Tsk of the analyzed regions at different times show significant differences between periods of the day in young active women, showing the minimum absolute values for both Tsk in the early morning. These results highlight the need to consider the time of day when analyzing womens skin temperature. Future studies should report the time of day when the images were collected, as well as consider the circadian rhythm when making comparisons.

Validity of inner canthus temperature recorded by infrared thermography as a non-invasive surrogate measure for core temperature at rest, during exercise and recovery

Abstract Research into obtaining a fast, valid, reliable and non-invasive measure of core temperature is of interest in many disciplinary fields. Occupational and sports medicine research has attempted to determine a non-invasive proxy for core temperature particularly when access to participants is limited and thermal safety is of a concern due to protective encapsulating clothing, hot ambient environments and/or high endogenous heat production during athletic competition. This investigation aimed to determine the validity of inner canthus of the eye temperature (T EC) as an alternate non-invasive measure of intestinal core temperature (T C) during rest, exercise and post-exercise conditions. Twelve physically active males rested for 30min prior to exercise, performed 60min of aerobic exercise at 60% V̇O2max and passively recovered a further 60min post-exercise. T EC and T C were measured at 5min intervals during each condition. Mean differences between T EC and T C were 0.61°C during pre-exercise, −1.78°C during exercise and −1.00°C during post-exercise. The reliability between the methods was low in the pre-exercise (ICC=0.49 [−0.09 to 0.82]), exercise (ICC=−0.14 [−0.65 to 0.44]) and post-exercise (ICC=−0.25 [−0.70 to 0.35]) conditions. In conclusion, poor agreement was observed between the T EC values measured through IRT and T C measured through a gastrointestinal telemetry pill. Therefore, T EC is not a valid substitute measurement to gastrointestinal telemetry pill in sports and exercise science settings.

Effect of a professional soccer match in skin temperature of the lower limbs: a case study

The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship between lower limbs skin temperature (Tsk) recorded by infrared thermography and creatine kinase (CK) response following an official soccer game. A professional soccer player, from the first division Brazilian League, defender, 27 years and 183 cm of height was analyzed. Measures of Tsk with a thermal camera and blood CK concentrations were obtained 24 hr before (24H-PRE), 24 (24H-POST) and 48 hr (48H-POST) after an official match. The results showed that CK values were 193 U/L 24 hr before, rising to 1,083 U/L 24 hr after the game and 414 U/L 48 hr after the game. Anterior thigh Tsk was 31.5°C, 33.8°C, and 31.8°C in the moments 24H-PRE, 24H-POST, and 48H-POST, respectively. Similarly, anterior leg presented temperature of 31.2°C, 33.3°C, and 31.5°C at the same moments. Qualitative analysis of the thermograms showed that whole lower limbs are much warmer 24 hr after the match and certain areas as the right anterior thigh, the left anterior leg, both anterior ankles, and both posterior thighs have not fully recovered their initial Tsk 48 hr after the match. The results of this study indicate that participation in a professional soccer match can lead to significant increases in Tsk values measured by IRT 24 hr after the match. Considering this variable as an indicator of muscular damage, it could help in the process of training control, being part of an injury prevention program in professional soccer clubs.