Search

A sore neck and back are very common among cyclists and can be caused by a change in spinal curvature and forward head posture during cycling. In addition, elite cyclists were found to have a decreased infrared thermography measurement during incremental exercise, and increased measurements after exhaustion. This study aims to assess the benefits of corrected cycling posture, evaluated by the OpenPose evaluation system and physical therapists, on exercise performance as determined by infrared thermography. We adopt a case–control study design. Thirty participants were divided into the group riding with a natural posture (control group) and the group riding with a corrected posture (experimental group). While both groups had comparable back and neck temperatures before and 10 min after finishing the exercise, the corrected posture group had a statistically lower temperature compared to the control one after riding for 30 min (33.58 ± 0.69°C vs. 35.18 ± 0.89°C; p < 0.001). This observed decrease in skin temperature during exercise implies better heat dissipation mechanisms and hence fatigue avoidance among cyclists with corrected posture. Larger studies with various static and dynamic cycling positions are required to gain better insights about the correlation between those positions, infrared thermography measurements, enhanced athletic performance and injury prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Aerobic exercise is closely associated with the vital functions of patients with scoliosis. Infrared thermography (IRT) has been increasingly applied in physiological measurements in recent years. OBJECTIVE: This observational study aimed to use IRT to examine the back body surface temperatures of patients with idiopathic scoliosis during aerobic exercise. METHODS: Forty-two participants who completed a pre-test were divided into a scoliotic group and a non-scoliotic group. Both groups completed a 30-minute cycling exercise, during which their back body temperature was measured using IRT, and the root-mean-square of the back electromyography value after 30 minutes of aerobic exercise was analyzed. RESULTS: The back body temperature decreased significantly after 30 minutes of exercise in the non-scoliotic group. In contrast, the back body temperature (at the trapezius and quadratus lumborum muscles) was asymmetric or increased after exercise in the scoliotic group. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that when patients with scoliosis exercise, their back body temperature should be assessed thoroughly to prevent adverse physiological reactions potentially caused by back body temperature imbalances as well as the potential health problems caused by poor heat dissipation. In addition, such observations can be useful in the early screening of scoliosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]