Termomonitoramento do tendão do calcâneo durante exercício excêntrico associado à fotobiomodulação: resultados preliminares

Abstract

Introduction: The Achilles tendon (AT) is considered the strongest in the body, however, it is vulnerable to injuries, mainly due to repetitive use. Lesions can promote changes in local temperature, which can be detected with the help of thermography. For the rehabilitation of these injuries, photobiomodulation (FBM) and eccentric exercises are used. Objective: To evaluate the thermographic profile of the AT of healthy individuals during the execution of an eccentric exercise protocol, whether or not preceded by the application of FBM. Materials and Methods: The sample consisted of a group of five healthy women with mean age = 24.8±2.95 years, weight = 62.2±9.53 kg, height = 1.63±0.03m, body mass index (BMI) = 23.24±3.04 kg/m2; fat percentage = 30.48±6.58%. The skin temperature of the AT region was recorded with the aid of the Flir T-360 thermographic camera in videos before, during and after the execution of the protocol. FBM was performed with a 660nm LED device. Pain and perceived exertion were collected pre and post experimental protocol with visual analogue scale and modified Borg scale. Descriptive statistics (mean±SD) were performed; ANOVA with repeated measures was used to compare temperatures over the follow-up period; and the paired t-test was used for pre and post comparison of perceived exertion and pain and for comparison between pairs of right and left limbs alone. In all analyses, SPSS software (20.0) was used, with a significance level of 5%. Results: For the active FBM group it was found that there was no significant difference in temperature over time (p=0.085), but the dominant AT showed an increase in temperature after the application of active LED (p=0.045). For the sham FBM group, an interaction was observed in the time x laterality variable, demonstrating that the temperature of the dominant AT increased, while that of the non-dominant AT decreased over time. The difference between groups for perceived exertion and pain were not significant (respectively, p=0.140; p=0.286). Conclusion: It is concluded that the eccentric exercise was able to produce an increase in the temperature of the AT and that the FBM also changes the local temperature, although it is a short-term effect. The findings of this study are important, albeit preliminary, as it is already possible to trace a trend in the thermographic profile during the execution of a protocol with eccentric exercise and FBM.