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Medagedara MH, Ranasinghe A, Lalitharatne TD, Gopura RARC, Nandasiri GK. Advancements in Textile-Based sEMG Sensors for Muscle Fatigue Detection: A Journey from Material Evolution to Technological Integration. ACS Sens 2024. [PMID: 39240819 DOI: 10.1021/acssensors.4c00604] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/08/2024]
Abstract
Textile-based surface electromyography (sEMG) electrodes have emerged as a prominent tool in muscle fatigue assessment, marking a significant shift toward innovative, noninvasive methods. This review examines the transition from metallic fibers to novel conductive polymers, elastomers, and advanced material-based electrodes, reflecting on the rapid evolution of materials in sEMG sensor technology. It highlights the pivotal role of materials science in enhancing sensor adaptability, signal accuracy, and longevity, crucial for practical applications in health monitoring, while examining the balance of clinical precision with user comfort. Additionally, it maps the global sEMG research landscape of diverse regional contributors and their impact on technological progress, focusing on the integration of Eastern manufacturing prowess with Western technological innovations and exploring both the opportunities and challenges in this global synergy. The integration of such textile-based sEMG innovations with artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, energy harvesting, and IoT connectivity is also anticipated as future prospects. Such advancements are poised to revolutionize personalized preventive healthcare. As the exploration of textile-based sEMG electrodes continues, the transformative potential not only promises to revolutionize integrated wellness and preventive healthcare but also signifies a seamless transition from laboratory innovations to real-world applications in sports medicine, envisioning the future of truly wearable material technologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Hansika Medagedara
- Department of Textile and Apparel Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Moratuwa, Katubedda 10400, Sri Lanka
| | - Anuradha Ranasinghe
- School of Mathematics, Computer Science and Engineering, Faculty of Science, Liverpool Hope University, Hope Park - Liverpool L16 9JD, United Kigdom
| | - Thilina D Lalitharatne
- School of Engineering and Materials Science, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, United Kigdom
| | - R A R C Gopura
- Bionics Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Moratuwa, Katubedda 10400, Sri Lanka
| | - Gayani K Nandasiri
- Department of Textile and Apparel Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Moratuwa, Katubedda 10400, Sri Lanka
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Petrigna L, Amato A, Roggio F, Trovato B, Musumeci G. Thermal threshold for knee osteoarthritis people evaluated with infrared thermography: A scoping review. J Therm Biol 2024; 123:103932. [PMID: 39111061 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtherbio.2024.103932] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2024] [Revised: 07/25/2024] [Accepted: 07/26/2024] [Indexed: 08/23/2024]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Knee degenerative processes, such as osteoarthritis, are disabling. An early intervention is generally more effective making important a timely diagnosis. A pre-diagnosis tool could be the thermal camera that allows the detection of joint inflammation. Consequently, the objective of the present study was to evaluate the literature and propose a thermal attention threshold for infrared thermography data in people with knee osteoarthritis. METHODS four electronic databases were searched with specific keywords until the 25th of March 2024. Only original articles about joint inflammation due to osteoarthritis evaluated through digital infrared thermal images were included. A quality assessment analysis was performed. The attention threshold was extracted through the median of the extracted data. The findings were narratively discussed. RESULTS A total of 9 studies have been included after the eligibility criteria selection. The studies presented some differences in terms of acquisition protocol, thermal imaging camera, data extrapolation, and analysis. Despite these differences, the studies presented similar thermal data. CONCLUSION A knee thermography of or above 31.3 °C could indicate osteoarthritis, highlighting the necessity of further, more specific, and accurate analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luca Petrigna
- Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, Section of Anatomy, Histology and Movement Science, School of Medicine, University of Catania, Via S. Sofia n°97, 95123, Catania, Italy.
| | - Alessandra Amato
- Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, Section of Anatomy, Histology and Movement Science, School of Medicine, University of Catania, Via S. Sofia n°97, 95123, Catania, Italy
| | - Federico Roggio
- Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, Section of Anatomy, Histology and Movement Science, School of Medicine, University of Catania, Via S. Sofia n°97, 95123, Catania, Italy
| | - Bruno Trovato
- Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, Section of Anatomy, Histology and Movement Science, School of Medicine, University of Catania, Via S. Sofia n°97, 95123, Catania, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Musumeci
- Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, Section of Anatomy, Histology and Movement Science, School of Medicine, University of Catania, Via S. Sofia n°97, 95123, Catania, Italy; Research Center on Motor Activities (CRAM), University of Catania, Via S. Sofia n°97, 95123, Catania, Italy
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Trovato B, Roggio F, Sortino M, Rapisarda L, Petrigna L, Musumeci G. Thermal profile classification of the back of sportive and sedentary healthy individuals. J Therm Biol 2023; 118:103751. [PMID: 38000144 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtherbio.2023.103751] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2023] [Revised: 10/30/2023] [Accepted: 11/01/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Infrared thermography (IRT) is a non-harmful, risk-free imaging technique and it has application for healthy and pathological population. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study is to evaluate the thermographic profiles of the back of sport practitioners from different disciplines and compare it with those of sedentary healthy individuals. METHOD The back of 160 healthy subjects were evaluated, and participants were grouped considering their sport practice: team sport (TS), individual sport (IS), weight training (WT), inactive (I). Three regions of interest were identified to analyze the cervical, thoracic and lumbar temperatures of the back. RESULTS The Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) resulted significant showing statistical differences for the cervical (p < 0.001), dorsal (p = 0.0011), and lumbar areas (p = 0.0366). The Tukey post-hoc test for pairwise comparison showed statistically significant differences between groups. For the cervical area significance was found between the IN and WT group (p = 0.002), the IN and IS group (p < 0.001), IN and TS group (p = 0.020). The dorsal area resulted significant between the IN and WT group (p = 0.007), the IN and IS group (p < 0.001), IN and TS group. The lumbar area showed significant differences only between the IN and WT group and the IN and IS group (p = 0.043). CONCLUSION This study demonstrated that inactive individuals manifest a statistically significant higher temperature in the cervical, dorsal and lumbar area of the back compared to sportive individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bruno Trovato
- Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, Section of Anatomy, Histology and Movement Science, School of Medicine, University of Catania, Via S. Sofia n°97, 95123, Catania, Italy
| | - Federico Roggio
- Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, Section of Anatomy, Histology and Movement Science, School of Medicine, University of Catania, Via S. Sofia n°97, 95123, Catania, Italy; Sport and Exercise Sciences Research Unit, Department of Psychology, Educational Science and Human Movement, University of Palermo, Via Giovanni Pascoli 6, Palermo, 90144, Italy
| | - Martina Sortino
- Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, Section of Anatomy, Histology and Movement Science, School of Medicine, University of Catania, Via S. Sofia n°97, 95123, Catania, Italy
| | | | - Luca Petrigna
- Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, Section of Anatomy, Histology and Movement Science, School of Medicine, University of Catania, Via S. Sofia n°97, 95123, Catania, Italy.
| | - Giuseppe Musumeci
- Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, Section of Anatomy, Histology and Movement Science, School of Medicine, University of Catania, Via S. Sofia n°97, 95123, Catania, Italy; Research Center on Motor Activities (CRAM), University of Catania, Via S. Sofia n°97, 95123, Catania, Italy; Department of Biology, Sbarro Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine, College of Science and Technology, Temple University, Philadelphia, 19122, PA, United States
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Hillen B, Andrés López D, Marzano-Felisatti JM, Sanchez-Jimenez JL, Cibrián Ortiz de Anda RM, Nägele M, Salvador-Palmer MR, Pérez-Soriano P, Schömer E, Simon P, Priego-Quesada JI. Acute physiological responses to a pyramidal exercise protocol and the associations with skin temperature variation in different body areas. J Therm Biol 2023; 115:103605. [PMID: 37329763 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtherbio.2023.103605] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2023] [Revised: 05/08/2023] [Accepted: 05/27/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
This study aimed to examine the skin temperature (Tsk) variations in five regions of interest (ROI) to assess whether possible disparities between the ROI's Tsk could be associated with specific acute physiological responses during cycling. Seventeen participants performed a pyramidal load protocol on a cycling ergometer. We synchronously measured Tsk in five ROI with three infrared cameras. We assessed internal load, sweat rate, and core temperature. Reported perceived exertion and calves' Tsk showed the highest correlation (r = -0.588; p < 0.01). Mixed regression models revealed that the heart rate and reported perceived exertion were inversely related to calves' Tsk. The exercise duration was directly associated with the nose tip and calf Tsk but inversely related to the forehead and forearm Tsk. The sweat rate was directly related to forehead and forearm Tsk. The association of Tsk with thermoregulatory or exercise load parameters depends on the ROI. The parallel observation of the face and calf Tsk could indicate simultaneously the observation of acute thermoregulatory needs and individual internal load. The separate Tsk analyses of individual ROI appear more suitable to examine specific physiological response than a mean Tsk of several ROI during cycling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barlo Hillen
- Department of Sports Medicine, Disease Prevention and Rehabilitation, Institute of Sports Science, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Germany.
| | - Daniel Andrés López
- Research Group of Computational Geometry, Institute of Computer Science, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Germany
| | - Joaquín Martín Marzano-Felisatti
- Department of Physical Education and Sports, Faculty of Physical Activity and Sports Sciences, GIBD (Research Group in Sports Biomechanics), University of Valencia, Spain
| | - José Luis Sanchez-Jimenez
- Department of Physical Education and Sports, Faculty of Physical Activity and Sports Sciences, GIBD (Research Group in Sports Biomechanics), University of Valencia, Spain
| | - Rosa Maria Cibrián Ortiz de Anda
- Department of Physiology. Faculty of Medicine and Odontology, GIFIME (Biophysics and Medical Physics Group), University of Valencia, Spain
| | | | - Maria Rosario Salvador-Palmer
- Department of Physiology. Faculty of Medicine and Odontology, GIFIME (Biophysics and Medical Physics Group), University of Valencia, Spain
| | - Pedro Pérez-Soriano
- Department of Physical Education and Sports, Faculty of Physical Activity and Sports Sciences, GIBD (Research Group in Sports Biomechanics), University of Valencia, Spain
| | - Elmar Schömer
- Research Group of Computational Geometry, Institute of Computer Science, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Germany
| | - Perikles Simon
- Department of Sports Medicine, Disease Prevention and Rehabilitation, Institute of Sports Science, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Germany
| | - Jose Ignacio Priego-Quesada
- Department of Physical Education and Sports, Faculty of Physical Activity and Sports Sciences, GIBD (Research Group in Sports Biomechanics), University of Valencia, Spain; Department of Physiology. Faculty of Medicine and Odontology, GIFIME (Biophysics and Medical Physics Group), University of Valencia, Spain.
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An exploratory, intra- and interindividual comparison of the deep neural network automatically measured calf surface radiation temperature during cardiopulmonary running and cycling exercise testing: A preliminary study. J Therm Biol 2023; 113:103498. [PMID: 37055104 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtherbio.2023.103498] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2021] [Revised: 08/28/2022] [Accepted: 02/07/2023] [Indexed: 02/13/2023]
Abstract
Non-invasive and contactless infrared thermography (IRT) measurements have been claimed to indicate acute neural, cardiovascular, and thermoregulatory adaptations during exercise. Due to challenging comparability, reproducibility, and objectivity, investigations considering different exercise types and intensities, and automatic ROI analysis are currently needed. Thus, we aimed to examine surface radiation temperature (Tsr) variations during different exercise types and intensities in the same individuals, ROI, and environmental conditions. Ten healthy, active males performed a cardiopulmonary exercise test on a treadmill in the first week and on a cycling ergometer the following week. Respiration, heart rate, lactate, rated perceived exertion, the mean, minimum, and maximum Tsr of the right calf (CTsr (°C)), and the surface radiation temperature pattern (CPsr) were explored. We executed two-way rmANOVA and Spearman's rho correlation analyses. Across all IRT parameters, mean CTsr showed the highest association to cardiopulmonary parameters (E.g., oxygen consumption: rs = -0.612 (running); -0.663 (cycling); p < .001). A global significant difference of CTsr was identified between all relevant exercise test increments for both exercise-types (p < .001; η2p = .842) and between both exercise-types (p = .045; η2p = .205). Differences in CTsr between running and cycling significantly appeared after a 3-min recovery period, whereas lactate, heart rate, and oxygen consumption were not different. High correlations between the CTsr values extracted manually and the CTsr values processed automatically by a deep neural network were identified. The applied objective time series analysis enables crucial insights into intra- and interindividual differences between both tests. CTsr variations indicate different physiological demands between incremental running and cycling exercise testing. Further studies applying automatic ROI analyses are needed to enable the extensive analysis of inter- and intraindividual factors influencing the CTsr variation during exercise to allow determine the criterion and predictive validity of IRT parameters in exercise physiology.
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Perpetuini D, Formenti D, Cardone D, Trecroci A, Rossi A, Di Credico A, Merati G, Alberti G, Di Baldassarre A, Merla A. Can Data-Driven Supervised Machine Learning Approaches Applied to Infrared Thermal Imaging Data Estimate Muscular Activity and Fatigue? SENSORS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 23:832. [PMID: 36679631 PMCID: PMC9863897 DOI: 10.3390/s23020832] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2022] [Revised: 01/07/2023] [Accepted: 01/09/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Surface electromyography (sEMG) is the acquisition, from the skin, of the electrical signal produced by muscle activation. Usually, sEMG is measured through electrodes with electrolytic gel, which often causes skin irritation. Capacitive contactless electrodes have been developed to overcome this limitation. However, contactless EMG devices are still sensitive to motion artifacts and often not comfortable for long monitoring. In this study, a non-invasive contactless method to estimate parameters indicative of muscular activity and fatigue, as they are assessed by EMG, through infrared thermal imaging (IRI) and cross-validated machine learning (ML) approaches is described. Particularly, 10 healthy participants underwent five series of bodyweight squats until exhaustion interspersed by 1 min of rest. During exercising, the vastus medialis activity and its temperature were measured through sEMG and IRI, respectively. The EMG average rectified value (ARV) and the median frequency of the power spectral density (MDF) of each series were estimated through several ML approaches applied to IRI features, obtaining good estimation performances (r = 0.886, p < 0.001 for ARV, and r = 0.661, p < 0.001 for MDF). Although EMG and IRI measure physiological processes of a different nature and are not interchangeable, these results suggest a potential link between skin temperature and muscle activity and fatigue, fostering the employment of contactless methods to deliver metrics of muscular activity in a non-invasive and comfortable manner in sports and clinical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Perpetuini
- Department of Neurosciences, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, University “G. d’Annunzio” of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, Italy
| | - Damiano Formenti
- Department of Biotechnology and Life Sciences (DBSV), University of Insubria, Via Dunant, 3, 21100 Varese, Italy
| | - Daniela Cardone
- Department of Engineering and Geology, University “G. d’Annunzio” of Chieti-Pescara, 65127 Pescara, Italy
| | - Athos Trecroci
- Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, University of Milan, 20129 Milan, Italy
| | - Alessio Rossi
- Department of Computer Science, University of Pisa, 56127 Pisa, Italy
| | - Andrea Di Credico
- Department of Medicine and Aging Sciences, University “G. d’Annunzio” of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, Italy
| | - Giampiero Merati
- Department of Biotechnology and Life Sciences (DBSV), University of Insubria, Via Dunant, 3, 21100 Varese, Italy
- IRCCS Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi, 20148 Milano, Italy
| | | | - Angela Di Baldassarre
- Department of Medicine and Aging Sciences, University “G. d’Annunzio” of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, Italy
| | - Arcangelo Merla
- Department of Engineering and Geology, University “G. d’Annunzio” of Chieti-Pescara, 65127 Pescara, Italy
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Hillen B, Lopez DA, Schomer E, Nagele M, Simon P. Towards Exercise Radiomics: Deep Neural Network-Based Automatic Analysis of Thermal Images Captured During Exercise. IEEE J Biomed Health Inform 2022; 26:4530-4540. [PMID: 35759601 DOI: 10.1109/jbhi.2022.3186530] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Infrared thermography is increasingly applied in sports science due to promising observations regarding changes in skin's surface radiation temperature ( Tsr) before, during, and after exercise. The common manual thermogram analysis limits an objective and reproducible measurement of Tsr. Previous analysis approaches depend highly on expert knowledge and have not been applied during movement. We aimed to develop a deep neural network (DNN) capable of automatically and objectively segmenting body parts, recognizing blood vessel-associated Tsr distributions, and continuously measuring Tsr during exercise. We conducted 38 cardiopulmonary exercise tests on a treadmill. We developed two DNNs: body part network and vessel network, to perform semantic segmentation of 1 107 855 captured thermal images. Both DNNs were trained with 263 training and 75 validation images. Additionally, we compare the results of a common manual thermogram analysis with these of the DNNs. Performance analysis identified a mean IoU of 0.8 for body part network and 0.6 for vessel network. There is a high agreement between manual and automatic analysis (r = 0.999; p 0.001; T-test: p = 0.116), with a mean difference of 0.01 C (0.08). Non-parametric Bland Altman's analysis showed that the 95% agreement ranges between -0.086 C and 0.228 C. The developed DNNs enable automatic, objective, and continuous measurement of Tsr and recognition of blood vessel-associated Tsr distributions in resting and moving legs. Hence, the DNNs surpass previous algorithms by eliminating manual region of interest selection and form the currently needed foundation to extensively investigate Tsr distributions related to non-invasive diagnostics of (patho-)physiological traits in means of exercise radiomics.
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Automated and Controlled System for Analysis of Residual Limbs Thermograms of Transtibial Amputees. APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/app12094170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
This work describes the development of a controlled cabin for capturing and analyzing thermal images. The motivation of such a device is to aid in the thermal image acquisition process within a confined space. The thermograms generated provide helpful information for analyzing the residual human limb in subjects with transtibial amputation. Such a study proposes a non-intrusive method to study the thermal activity on the amputee residual limb and seek a correlation to the quality of the socket. The proposed cabin ensures the repeatability of the thermograms acquisition process and provides an isolated workspace, thus improving the quality of the samples. The methodology consists of the design of the mechanical elements and parts of the system on computer-aided design software, the electronic instrumentation, a graphic user interface, and the control algorithm based on a barrier Lyapunov function to solve the trajectory tracking for the camera movements, and numerical simulations to illustrate the functionality and the manufacture of a prototype. The results obtained by implementing the control design on the automated cabin reveal that the thermal image acquisition process is completed following the desired trajectory with a mean squared tracking error of 0.0052. In addition, an example of the thermal images of two subjects and the results processing this class of pictures using the designed interface is shown.
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Effects of Unilateral Muscle Fatigue on Thermographic Skin Surface Temperature of Back and Abdominal Muscles—A Pilot Study. Sports (Basel) 2022; 10:sports10030041. [PMID: 35324650 PMCID: PMC8951321 DOI: 10.3390/sports10030041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2021] [Revised: 02/15/2022] [Accepted: 03/02/2022] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
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.
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