Thermography

Thermography--its current diagnostic status in musculoskeletal medicine

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the currently perceived status of thermography in the diagnosis of musculoskeletal disorders.

DATA SOURCES

Medical and legal journals published from 1956 onwards; report of the United States Office of Health Technology Assessment and personal communication with the author of that report.

STUDY SELECTION

Confined to application of thermography to musculoskeletal and neurological medicine.

DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS

Weighted towards prospective and controlled studies.

CONCLUSION

Little evidence exists of any application of thermography in which it is unequivocally superior to conventional diagnostic imaging methods.

A comparison of thermography and electromyography in the diagnosis of cervical radiculopathy

We studied 20 asymptomatic control subjects and 14 patients with clinically unequivocal cervical radiculopathy to compare the diagnostic value of thermography with that of electromyography. We measured the average skin temperature of designated regions over the neck, shoulder, and upper extremities. We then compared the temperature between corresponding regions of the two limbs, and between fingers innervated by different roots in the same hand. Thermography was abnormal in 6 patients (43%), whereas electromyography was abnormal in 10 (71%). Thermographic abnormalities were seen only in the hands and fingers, and the pattern did not follow the dermatome of the clinically involved cervical root. When compared to electromyography, thermography provided no additional diagnostic information. Thus, thermography does not have an established role in the evaluation of patients with cervical radiculopathy.