Regional Skin Temperature Response to Moderate Aerobic Exercise Measured by Infrared Thermography

BACKGROUND: Infrared thermography (IRT) does not require contact with the skin, and it is a convenient, reliable and non-invasive technique that can be used for monitoring the skin temperature (T(SK)). OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to monitor the variations in the regional T(SK) during exercise on 28 regions of interest (ROIs) (forehead, face, chest, abdomen, back, lumbar, anterior and posterior neck, and posterior and anterior views of the right and left hands, forearms, upper arms, thighs, and legs) with IRT. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 12 physically active young males were monitored with IRT during the following three phases: a) 30 minutes before exercise b) while performing one hour of moderate intensity exercise on a treadmill at 60% of the VO(2max), and c) 60 minutes after exercise. RESULTS: During pre-exercise, all T(SK) reached a steady-state (P ≤ 0.05), which ensured adequate thermal stabilisation. At the beginning of exercise, there was a significant reduction in the T(SK) in most ROIs after 10 minutes of activity, except for the lower limbs (legs and thighs). After one hour of recovery, in the anterior view of the hands and thighs and in the posterior view of the legs, there were significant increases in the T(SK) compared to pre-exercise. CONCLUSIONS: There were significant distinctions in the skin temperature distribution during exercise according to the activity of the area under consideration during exercise, which may be important in the development of physiological models and heat flux analyses for different purposes.