Effects of Unilateral Muscle Fatigue on Thermographic Skin Surface Temperature of Back and Abdominal Muscles-A Pilot Study.

Carlo Dindorf,Elena Janowicz,Oliver Ludwig,Eva Bartaguiz,Michael Fröhlich

doi:10.3390/sports10030041

Abstract

The present study aimed to assess the effects of asymmetric muscle fatigue on the skin surface temperature of abdominal and back muscles. The study was based on a pre-post/follow-up design with one group and included a total of 41 subjects (22 male, 19 female; age, 22.63 ± 3.91; weight, 71.89 ± 12.97 kg; height, 173.36 ± 9.95). All the participants were asked to perform side bends in sets of 20 repetitions on a Roman chair until complete exhaustion. The pre-, post- and follow-up test (24 h after) skin surface temperatures were recorded with infrared thermography. Subjective muscle soreness and muscle fatigue were analyzed using two questionnaires. The results of the post hoc tests showed that skin temperature was statistically significantly lower in the post-tests than in the pre- and follow-up tests, but no meaningful differences existed between the pre- and follow-up tests. Asymmetric side differences were found in the post-test for the upper and lower areas of the back. Differences were also noted for the front in both the upper and lower areas. No thermographic side asymmetries were found at the pre- or follow-up measurement for either the back or the front. Our results support the potential of using thermographic skin surface temperature to monitor exercise and recovery in athletes, as well as its use in rehabilitational exercise selection.

Highlights

Near-infrared thermography has recently found its way into sports science issues.Numerous studies have confirmed that changes in skin temperature occur after muscular load [1–4]
The aim of the study was to determine (1) whether asymmetric load of the lateral trunk muscles leads to thermographically visible unilateral changes in skin temperature of the lower back and trunk muscles and (2) whether possible changes are detectable to the same extent immediately after exercise and 24 h later
The study results show that after unilateral muscular exercise, thermographically significant asymmetric changes in skin temperature were detectable in the lateral abdominal muscles on the loaded side

Summary

Introduction

Near-infrared thermography has recently found its way into sports science issues. Numerous studies have confirmed that changes in skin temperature occur after muscular load [1–4]. This effect is of great interest in training science as well as presumably of medical importance to prevent injuries due to muscular overload [3,5–7]. The first effects can be observed after a few minutes. While no clear correlations between muscle fatigue and thermoregulatory effects have been found [10,11], there certainly seem to be correlations in physiologically measurable parameters, such as electromyography and muscle strength [2,12–14]. Likewise, infrared measurement of skin temperature does not appear to be able to predict delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) 24 h after exercise [15]

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