Temperature assessment and plantar inflammation

Abstract

The rehabilitation of the healed plantar ulcer is difficult to monitor by routine methods. Monitoring of skin temperature has been found to detect the early inflammatory response of the soft tissues to the insult imposed during walking. Methods of doing this are discussed and case histories described. The human hand, though quantitatively inaccurate, can effectively detect temperature contrasts. If routine management follows the recognition of eary inflammatory responses, deformity can be prevented.