Abstract

Musculoskeletal injuries in football (American) are common, and health-care professionals are continuously trying to find new ways to prevent, assess, and rehabilitate sports injuries. While magnetic resonance imaging is considered the gold standard in diagnosing soft tissue injuries, magnetic resonance imaging is expensive, difficult to access, and requires a qualified professional. Infrared thermography is a novel technology that is quick, non-invasive, easily accessible, and can provide a static or dynamic image. This study evaluated the use of infrared imaging as a tool to monitor the healing and rehabilitation of injured professional football athletes. The first objective was to use infrared thermography to track changes in average maximum temperature of the injured limb following an injury up until return to play. The second objective was to use infrared thermography to track the average temperature asymmetry between the injured limb and the healthy limb after injury up until return to play. The third objective was to identify the relationships between average maximum temperature, average temperature asymmetry, and LEFS scores at time of injury and return to play in football players recovering from an acute lower extremity musculoskeletal injury. Infrared imaging could measure the changes in temperature from acute inflammation all the way to increased blood flow during sport specific rehabilitation. Infrared imaging can be provided by any health care professional at any time and could improve player safety in the CFL.