Thermography analysis as a tool for assessing thermal asymmetries and temperature changes after therapy in patients with stroke: a pilot study

This pilot quasi-experimental study investigates the potential of infrared thermography as a non-invasive tool for assessing thermal asymmetries in patients with hemiplegia following stroke. Ten participants underwent thermographic imaging using a FLIR C5 camera before and after a lower-limb muscle-strength intervention. Thermal data were processed and analyzed with ThermImageJ software, following the TISEM protocol to ensure the precision of temperature measurements within predefined regions of interest (ROI). The primary aim was to evaluate whether thermography could reliably detect thermal discrepancies between the affected and unaffected sides of the body and whether these differences respond to targeted physical therapy. The results demonstrated significant baseline asymmetries between both sides of the body, which were notably reduced after the strength intervention. These findings suggest that muscle-strength training may contribute to improved thermal symmetry and that thermography is sensitive enough to detect such changes. While the outcomes are promising, larger-scale studies with extended follow-up are necessary to confirm these preliminary findings. Nonetheless, infrared thermography is an effective complementary method for monitoring physiological responses to rehabilitation in stroke patients.