Joint Response to Exercise Is Affected by Knee Osteoarthritis: An Infrared Thermography Analysis

Abstract

Infrared thermography can be used to evaluate the inflammation characterizing the joint environment of OA knees, but there is limited evidence on the response to physical exercise. Identifying the response to exercise of OA knees and the influencing variables could provide important information to better profile patients with different knee OA patterns. Sixty consecutive patients (38 men/22 women, 61.4 ± 9.2 years) with symptomatic knee OA were enrolled. Patients were evaluated with a standardized protocol using a thermographic camera (FLIR-T1020) positioned at 1 m with image acquisition of an anterior view at baseline, immediately after, and at 5 min after a 2-min knee flexion–extension exercise with a 2 kg anklet. Patients’ demographic and clinical characteristics were documented and correlated with the thermographic changes. This study demonstrated that the temperature response to exercise in symptomatic knee OA was affected by some demographic and clinical characteristics of the assessed patients. Patients with a poor clinical knee status presented with a lower response to exercise, and women showed a greater temperature decrease than men. Not all evaluated ROIs showed the same trend, which underlines the need to specifically study the different joint subareas to identify the inflammatory component and joint response while investigating knee OA patterns.

Analysis of the Level of Adiponectin and Selected Cytokines in Patients with Knee Osteoarthritis

“…A recent study observed that in postmenopausal women, physical effort has been positively associated with amelioration in coordination, balance, flexibility, muscle strength, and bone mineral density [41]. In addition, de Marziani et al observed that women showed a greater temperature decrease than men when they were evaluated with a thermographic camera, directly after and five minutes after a 2 min knee flexion-extension exercise [43]. Another study aimed to evaluate the impact of sex on the effectiveness of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) in KOA patients.…”

Intra‐articular injections in sport‐active patients with degenerative cartilage lesions or osteoarthritis of the knee: a systematic review

“…They represent one of the most common causes of knee pain and performance deterioration in athletes, with studies showing a higher incidence of knee OA in athletes compared to the general population [1,22,40,45]. This is ascribable to the continuous cartilage solicitation and frequent overuse injuries during physical activity, leading to its premature degeneration, joint inflammation, and ultimately favouring the early development of OA [15,16,30,45]. These patients can experience symptoms ranging from knee pain and loss of function, which negatively impact their sport activity, resulting in reduced performance and even early retirement from sport [55].…”