Thermal patterns and health perceptions

Thermal pattern analysis is thought to be an indicator of health. However, the validity of this concept has not been established. To further investigate the relationship between thermal pattern analysis and health perceptions, thermal scans were assessed in conjunction with results from the SF-12 health survey.

Sixty-eight chiropractic students were recruited to receive two paraspinal thermal scans, 5 minutes apart, on three visits that were 1 week apart. Each scan produces three graphs or channels; one for each of left and right sides of the spine and a delta or difference between left and right. The scans were imported into a thermal pattern calculator (TPC) providing a percent similarity between the two. The TPC percent were compared with to their corresponding SF-12 scores.

There were no significant findings in the left or delta channel. For the right channel, there was a decrease in mental health perception in participants having a TPC percent of 70.8 or higher (32.3% of all visits).

Participants in this study who had right channel TPC percent of 70.8 or higher were associated with lower mental health perception scores. The study is considered a preliminary inquiry only due to the small sample size.