Abstract
Monitoring recovery following fatiguing exercise requires tools that are sensitive to both physiological and perceptual stress while remaining practical for applied settings. Infrared thermography has emerged as a promising, non-invasive technique, yet its association with established recovery outcomes has not been fully elucidated. PURPOSE: To investigate the association between thermography-measured skin temperature with physiological and perceptual recovery metrics. METHODS: Eight recreationally active individuals (mean ± standard deviation; age: 29 ± 5yrs, height: 174.3 ± 7.7, weight: 72.5 ± 7.1kg) completed a whole-body fatiguing exercise protocol with either pre-exercise sauna, post-exercise sauna, or no sauna bathing in a randomized and counterbalanced order. Recovery was assessed at baseline and 24-, 48-, and 72-hours post-exercise using physiological testing (range of motion [ROM], Landing Error Scoring System [LESS], bilateral and unilateral counter-movement jumps [CMJ], and a lactate threshold [LT] test) and perceptual measures (Fatigue and Soreness Visual Analog Scales [VAS] and Short Recovery and Stress Scale [SRSS]). Whole-body front-and-back thermographic images were captured at each time point, quantifying right-left average asymmetries (RLAsy), absolute average asymmetry (AbsAsy), global temperature (GbT), and a whole-body asymmetry quantity and severity measurement (TRI). Linear mixed-effect models were used to examine associations between recovery outcomes and thermography variables, with subject as a random effect to account for repeated measures and intervention as a fixed effect. RESULTS: For physiological measures, hip flexion asymmetry was negatively associated with GbT (estimate=-1.268, p=0.045). For perceptual outcomes, Emotional Balance was positively associated with GbT (estimate=0.281, pCONCLUSION:Thermographic surface temperature measures were significantly associated with both physiological and perceptual recovery measures, supporting the potential use of thermography as a complementary measure for assessing recovery status.
Recommended Citation
McCollum, Tyler; Keefe, Marcos; Brojanac, Alexandra; Richardson, Isabel J.; Waller, Sophia J.; and Sekiguchi, Yasuki
(2026)
"Thermography-Derived Skin Temperature Metrics Reflect Physiological and Perceptual Recovery,"
International Journal of Exercise Science: Conference Proceedings: Vol. 2:
Iss.
18, Article 42.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/ijesab/vol2/iss18/42
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Health and Physical Education Commons, Medical Education Commons, Sports Sciences Commons