Total body skin temperature of runners during treadmill exercise. A pilot study

The aim of this study was to investigate the time-evolution of total body skin temperature during running exercise on treadmill. A group of physically active subjects performed two different treadmill exercises, at graded load and at constant load, for a duration of 30 minutes, in a moderate indoor environment. Thermal maps of the anterior and posterior body regions were gathered, before, during and after the exercise, by means of infrared thermography. Skin temperature of total body was calculated as a combination of individual measurements taken over several body regions. Within the limits due to the relatively small size of the sample group, results typically show a fall in total body skin temperature during the early stages of treadmill exercise. As the exercise progresses, the dynamics of the skin temperature response is affected by the type of exercise, showing a further decrease during the graded load exercise and a slight increase during the constant load exercise. Regionally averaged skin temperatures were found to be lower than total body skin temperature over the most peripheral body regions less involved in running (upper limbs) and comparable with or higher than total body skin temperature over calves and thighs.