Infrared Thermal Imaging in the Diagnosis of Musculoskeletal Injuries: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

The study of the diagnostic accuracy of Infrared Thermal Imaging in the diagnosis of orthopaedic injuries in childhood has been motivated by the high incidence of these injuries throughout the world, being one of the most common reasons for urgent medical consultation. Diagnosis of musculoskeletal injuries usually involves radiography, but this exposes children without fractures to unnecessary ionising radiation. This chapter assesses whether infrared thermography could provide a viable alternative in cases of trauma. To evaluate the accuracy of this technique new thermographic variables have been added to those commonly analysed, such as the extent of the injury and the difference in the size of the area that is at an equal temperature or higher than the maximum temperature of the healthy area. Non-linear cataloguing methods (decision tree models) have also been applied. With the protocol presented, infrared thermal imaging had a sensitivity of 0.91, a specificity of 0.88 and a negative predictive value of 0.95 for diagnosing musculoskeletal injuries.

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Prevalence and incidence of injuries in para athletes: a systematic review with meta-analysis and GRADE recommendations

British Journal of Sports Medicine ◽

10.1136/bjsports-2020-102823 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. bjsports-2020-102823

Author(s):

Larissa Santos Pinto Pinheiro ◽

Juliana Melo Ocarino ◽

Fernanda Oliveira Madaleno ◽

Evert Verhagen ◽

Marco Túlio de Mello ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Sample Size ◽

Evaluation System ◽

Methodological Quality ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Musculoskeletal Injuries ◽

Lower Limbs ◽

Eligibility Criteria ◽

Strength Of Evidence ◽

Subgroup Analyses

ObjectiveTo investigate prevalence, incidence and profile of musculoskeletal injuries in para athletes.DesignSystematic review.Data sourcesSearches were conducted in MEDLINE, EMBASE, AMED, SPORTSDiscus, CINAHL and hand searching.Eligibility criteriaStudies were considered if they reported prevalence or incidence of musculoskeletal injuries in para athletes. Study selection, data extraction and analysis followed the protocol. Meta-analyses were conducted to estimate the prevalence and incidence rate among studies and subgroup analyses investigated whether methodological quality and sample size of the studies influenced on the estimated injury prevalence and incidence. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation system determined the strength of evidence.ResultsForty-two studies were included. The prevalence of musculoskeletal injuries was 40.8% (95% CI 32.5% to 49.8%). Because of imprecision, indirectness and inconsistency, the strength of evidence was very low quality. The incidence of musculoskeletal injuries was 14.3 injuries per 1000 athlete-days (95% CI 11.9 to 16.8). The strength of evidence was low quality because of imprecision and indirectness. The subgroup analyses revealed that the sample size influenced on estimated injury prevalence and methodological quality influenced on estimated incidence. Injuries were more prevalent in the shoulder, for non-ambulant para athletes, and in the lower limbs, for ambulant para athletes.Summary/conclusionPara athletes show high prevalence and incidence of musculoskeletal injuries. Current very low-quality and low-quality evidence suggests that future high-quality studies with systematic data collection, larger sample size and specificities of para athletes are likely to change estimates of injury prevalence and incidence in para athletes.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42020147982.

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Clinical Applications

Disruptive Technology ◽

10.4018/978-1-5225-9273-0.ch015 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 308-331

Author(s):

Enrique Sanchis-Sánchez ◽

Rosario Salvador-Palmer ◽

Pilar Codoñer-Franch ◽

Jose Martín-Guerrero ◽

Carlos Vergara-Hernández ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Thermal Imaging ◽

Musculoskeletal Injuries ◽

Maximum Temperature ◽

Infrared Thermal Imaging ◽

High Incidence ◽

The World ◽

Tree Models ◽

Healthy Area ◽

The Difference ◽

Orthopaedic Injuries

The study of the diagnostic accuracy of Infrared Thermal Imaging in the diagnosis of orthopaedic injuries in childhood has been motivated by the high incidence of these injuries throughout the world, being one of the most common reasons for urgent medical consultation. Diagnosis of musculoskeletal injuries usually involves radiography, but this exposes children without fractures to unnecessary ionising radiation. This chapter assesses whether infrared thermography could provide a viable alternative in cases of trauma. To evaluate the accuracy of this technique new thermographic variables have been added to those commonly analysed, such as the extent of the injury and the difference in the size of the area that is at an equal temperature or higher than the maximum temperature of the healthy area. Non-linear cataloguing methods (decision tree models) have also been applied. With the protocol presented, infrared thermal imaging had a sensitivity of 0.91, a specificity of 0.88 and a negative predictive value of 0.95 for diagnosing musculoskeletal injuries.

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The association between the functional movement screen outcome and the incidence of musculoskeletal injuries: A systematic review with meta-analysis

Physical Therapy in Sport ◽

10.1016/j.ptsp.2018.11.011 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 35 ◽

pp. 146-158 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Priscila dos Santos Bunn ◽

Allan Inoue Rodrigues ◽

Elirez Bezerra da Silva

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Musculoskeletal Injuries ◽

Functional Movement Screen ◽

Functional Movement

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Infrared thermography and musculoskeletal injuries: A systematic review with meta-analysis

Infrared Physics & Technology ◽

10.1016/j.infrared.2020.103435 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 109 ◽

pp. 103435

Author(s):

Priscila dos Santos Bunn ◽

Maria Elisa Koppke Miranda ◽

Allan Inoue Rodrigues ◽

Ravini de Souza Sodré ◽

Eduardo Borba Neves ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Infrared Thermography ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Musculoskeletal Injuries

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Biomedical musculoskeletal applications of infrared thermal imaging on arm and forearm: A systematic review

Journal of Thermal Biology ◽

10.1016/j.jtherbio.2019.04.008 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 82 ◽

pp. 164-177 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Ricardo Vardasca ◽

Carolina Magalhaes ◽

Pedro Silva ◽

Paulo Abreu ◽

Joaquim Mendes ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Thermal Imaging ◽

Infrared Thermal Imaging

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Exercise Programs to Reduce the Risk of Musculoskeletal Injuries in Military Personnel: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis

PM&R ◽

10.1002/pmrj.12360 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (10) ◽

pp. 1028-1037

Author(s):

Iris Dijksma ◽

Ilgin G. Arslan ◽

Faridi S. Etten‐Jamaludin ◽

Roy G. Elbers ◽

Cees Lucas ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Military Personnel ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Musculoskeletal Injuries ◽

Exercise Programs

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The Effect of Combined Training and Racing High-Speed Exercise History on Musculoskeletal Injuries in Thoroughbred Racehorses: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Current Literature

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani10112091 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (11) ◽

pp. 2091

Author(s):

Kylie L. Crawford ◽

Benjamin J. Ahern ◽

Nigel R. Perkins ◽

Clive J. C. Phillips ◽

Anna Finnane

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

High Speed ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Relevant Literature ◽

Musculoskeletal Injuries ◽

Current Evidence ◽

Combined Training ◽

Thoroughbred Racehorses ◽

Active Research ◽

The Impact

Despite over three decades of active research, musculoskeletal injuries (MSI) remain a global problem for the Thoroughbred (TB) racing industry. High-speed exercise history (HSEH) has been identified as an important risk factor for MSI. However, the nature of this relationship remains unclear, with an apparent protective effect of HSE against injury, before it becomes potentially harmful. Many MSI cases and fatalities occur during training rather than during racing, resulting in an underestimation of injury from studies focused on race day. The objective of this study was to examine the current evidence of the effect of combined training and racing HSEH on MSI in TB flat racehorses, through a systematic review and meta-analysis. A systematic search of the relevant literature was performed using PubMed®, Scopus®, Web of Science®, and Embase® online databases and the gray literature using sites containing “.edu” or “.edu.au”. Studies included in the review had explored seven different measures of HSE, including total career HSE distance, cumulative HSE distance in the 30 and 60 days before MSI, average HSE distance per day, per event and per 30 days, and the total number of HSE events. The total cumulative career HSE distance significantly affected the odds of MSI, with every 5-furlong increase, the odds of MSI increased by 2% (OR = 1.02; 95% CI 1.01, 1.03; p = 0.004). The average HSE distance per day also affected the odds of MSI, with every additional furlong increasing the odds of MSI by 73% (OR = 1.73; 95% CI 1.29, 2.31; p < 0.001). Other measures of HSE were not found to be consistently associated with risk of MSI, but these results should be interpreted with caution. Significant methodological limitations were identified and influence the comparability of studies. Standardizing the measures of HSE in studies of MSI, and describing training conditions in more detail, would support a more thorough investigation of the relationship between HSE and MSI. An improved understanding of this relationship is critical to mitigating the impact of MSI in the Thoroughbred racehorse.

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