The Cold Sciatic Leg

Hakelius, Anders; Nilsonne, Ulf; Pernow, Bengt; Zetterquist, S

doi:10.3109/17453676908989527

Cited by 7 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 4 publications

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“…The findings confirm that the results obtained using infrared thermography are well correlated with those obtained with computerized tomography (CT), myelography, and MRI. Moreover, Hakelius et al 7) and Lindholm et al 11) commented that low temperature measured in the lower extremities indicated the possibility of spinal nerve root compression.…”

Section: Transient Ischemia Often Occurs During Walking Because Of Thmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermographic Findings in Patients with Lumbar Spinal Stenosis Before and After Walking

Kim

Hur

et al. 2018

Asian J Pain

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Objective: Patients with lumbar spinal stenosis experience a variety of symptoms, including back pain, and neurogenic claudication. However, these symptoms appear only after walking for a certain distance. Therefore, it is difficult to make an accurate diagnosis using conventional methods, which involve tests performed under resting conditions. Therefore, infrared thermography could be a helpful diagnostic tool. Methods: Eight patients, who had neurogenic claudication after walking a certain distance, were enrolled in this study. These patients underwent infrared thermography at least twice after they walked a certain distance (about 50 meters after walking for 10 minutes). Four other patients, who only had back pain but no claudication, were enrolled as the comparison groups. Results: Seven patients in the patient group showed a decrease of 0.6 to 2.3 degrees in body temperature, depending on the body regions evaluated, after walking a certain distance. However, in the comparison groups, only 1 patient had decreased body temperature after walking. Conclusion: Neurogenic claudication symptoms are present in spinal stenosis patients because of venous congestion, which causes neurogenic claudication and decreases surface temperature. Therefore, infrared thermography can be performed in patients not only in resting conditions but also in symptom-expression conditions. Hence, infrared thermography can help in the accurate diagnosis of lumbar spinal stenosis.

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Section: Transient Ischemia Often Occurs During Walking Because Of Thmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermographic Findings in Patients with Lumbar Spinal Stenosis Before and After Walking

Kim

Hur

et al. 2018

Asian J Pain

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Thermography in low back pain and sciatica

Gillström

1985

Arch. Orth. Traum. Surg.

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This investigation proved that thermography is a reliable method of examination. When the difference of temperature in the legs reached 1 degree C or more, there was a correlation between clinical sciatica and the thermographic registration in 51 of 52 patients. As regards diagnosing the level, thermography is unreliable for distinguishing an L4/L5 syndrome from an S1 syndrome. In this investigation it was possible to correlate colder zones and the clinical syndrome in most patients. However, there is a large overlap between the dermatomes. When following up the results of autotraction no certain conclusions can be drawn, but among the patients with sciatica the decrease in temperature was greater in the group who clinically recovered.

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