F-4-02-05
EVALUATION OF THERAPEUTIC EXERCISE: APPLYING THERMOGRAPHY
R. Kanie (Nagoya City University Medical School, Nagoya, JAPAN)
Thermography, a non-invasive thermal imaging method for obtaining physiological information, has been recently applied in the field of rehabilitation medicine as one approach to the diagnosis and evaluation of treatment for diseases of the locomotive organs. In the context of the various therapeutic methods or exercises that are recommended for motion and functional disturbances caused by disuse in muscular atrophy, degenerative changes in joint tissue, and irregularity in circulation, we examined the effectiveness of therapeutic exercise by applying thermography.
The average temperature of each side of the body and the temperature difference between the two sides were calculated by our improved method, in which the region of interest could be enclosed within a polygon. After the bicycle ergometer exercise for strengthening the lower limbs, thermal increase was recognized especially in the quadriceps region on both sides. On the quadriceps training loaded with a weight-band above the ankle joint, the temperature rise was distinct when compared to the side not loaded. When one side was loaded with an iron dumbbell, a higher temperature was found along the vessels in the loaded upper limb, which was considered to result from the increase in blood flow. In many cases of hip-osteoarthritis, it was clarified that a lower temperature found in the gluteal region of the diseased side before surgery improved along with the gluteal muscle strengthening during the post-operative rehabilitation regimen.
We found thermographic examination to be useful in evaluating the course of therapeutic exercise, and believe applications of thermography will become more widely used in rehabilitation medicine.
F-4-02-06
MEASURING TEMPERATURE CHANGES IN REFLEX SYMPATHETIC DYSTROPHY
H. Margreet Oerlemans*, Rob A.B. Oostendorp**, R. Jan A. Goris*
(*University Hospital Nijmegen, The Netherlands; **Dutch National Institute of Allied Health Professions, Amersfoort, The Netherlands; Free University of Brussels, Belgium).
Purpose: To establish the difference between objective and subjective measurements of skin temperature in patients with Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy of one upper extremity.
Method: All patients had a primary warm RSD. Temperature differences between both hands were researched with an infra-red thermometer (IR; measuring in degrees Celcius) and a VAS-score (ranging from no difference to maximum experienced difference). 30 Patients participated in the study (mean age 60 years, range 18-80 years; mean duration RSD 4 months, range 1 to 9 months). Outcomes were both interpreted directly and after translating them to a numeric score (1-10), this in order to make them comparable.
Results & conclusion: The IR differences were mean 0.6℃ (±0.5) for the backs of the hands, and 0.4℃ (±0.4) for the palms. The mean VAS score was 27mm (±28). Translated to the numeric score, the IR-scores were 13 times higher and 17 times lower than the VAS-scores. The mean difference was 2.5 points (range 0-9). There was no correlation between both translated scores (rs=0.25).
Both measurements seem to refer to different underlying aspects.
