Infrared Thermography for the Diagnosis of Musculoskeletal Pain

September 18, 2019 updated by: Universidad San Jorge

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

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.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

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.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

20

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Participants with no acute pain, chronic pain or other medical disorders relevant to this study.

Description

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.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Observational Models: Case-Crossover
  • Time Perspectives: Cross-Sectional

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Healthy subjects
Participants free from any pain specific to the upper limb, chronic pain or other disease.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Changes in temperature of pixels on the upper extremity: infrared thermography
Time Frame: 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.
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)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Changes in Pressure Pain Thresholds: pressure algometry
Time Frame: 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.
Day-1 (baseline assessment, pre exercise before painful stimulus), Day-2 (24 hours post-exercise before painful stimulus)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Universidad San Jorge

Investigators

  • Study Director: Pablo Herrero, PhD, Universidad San Jorge

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

October 1, 2015

Primary Completion (Actual)

April 29, 2016

Study Completion (Actual)

April 30, 2016

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 18, 2019

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 18, 2019

First Posted (Actual)

September 20, 2019

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

September 20, 2019

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 18, 2019

Last Verified

September 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • P15/2015

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

No

IPD Plan Description

There are currently no plan on sharing data from this study with other researchers.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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