Use of thermography in the treatment of amateur athletes: an integrative review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55892/jrg.v9i20.3333Keywords:
Thermography; Amateur athletes; Sports injuries; Sports physiotherapy.Abstract
Infrared thermography has emerged as an innovative and non-invasive tool in the field of health and sports performance, increasingly applied in the monitoring of amateur athletes. This study aimed to analyze, through an integrative literature review, the use of infrared thermography in treatment, injury prevention, and performance monitoring in amateur athletes. The methodology consisted of a search for scientific articles in the PubMed, SciELO, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases, including publications from 2014 to 2026 in Portuguese and English. A total of nine studies met the established inclusion criteria. The results showed that thermography is capable of identifying thermal variations associated with inflammatory processes, muscle overload, and fatigue, contributing to early injury detection. Furthermore, it proved effective in monitoring rehabilitation by analyzing clinical progression through the reduction of thermal asymmetries. Its applicability in sports performance monitoring was also highlighted, supporting individualized training and reducing overload risks. It is concluded that infrared thermography is a promising tool in sports physiotherapy, particularly for amateur athletes, due to its practicality, safety, and diagnostic potential. However, further studies are needed to strengthen scientific evidence and support its broader clinical application.
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