Infrared thermography in adolescents with Osgood-Schlatter Disease

Abstract

Introduction: Thermography has been used to monitor musculoskeletal disorders, but no study has assessed thermal patterns of anterior tibial tuberosity inflammation that occurs in Osgood-Schlatter Disease (OSD). Objective: To investigate the patterns of knee temperature in adolescents with and without OSD. Methods: Twenty adolescents were separated into two groups: one comprising individuals with OSD and a control in which none had OSD. An infrared image of the knees was recorded after 15 minutes of acclimatization in a temperature-controlled environment, and the maximum absolute knee temperature and the temperature difference (T) between knees were obtained. Results: The maximum knee temperature in the OSD group was significantly higher (p = 0.008) than the highest recorded knee temperature in the control group. The T between knees was significantly higher (p = 0.007) in the OSD group than in the control group. Conclusion: Adolescents with OSD present knee thermal asymmetry and hyper-radiant patterns in the affected knee, these alterations are prominent enough to be detected thermographically through infrared imaging.