The importance of thermography for injury prevention and performance improvement in olympic swimmers: a series of case study

Abstract

Sports medicine operates in two main areas: injury prevention and the performance improvement. Medical infrared thermography has been devoted to understand sports performance and pathology diagnostic, showing a potential to ensure better results for athletes due to the ability to identify risks, prevent injuries and increase performance. The aim of this study is to present the results of thermographic evaluation, in a series of case study, and it is role in preventing injury and improving the performance of high performance athletes from the Brazilian Olympic Swimming Team. The results obtained demonstrated the importance of the use of thermography, the possibilities of intervention and, also, the consequent improvement in clinical and training aspects.