Thermography: a call for scientific studies to establish its diagnostic efficacy

Thermography is reported to provide objective evidence of physiologic dysfunction in patients with low back pain and sciatica. This diagnostic test is appealing because it is painless, non-invasive, has no known adverse biologic effects, presents comprehensible graphic information, requires only a moderate investment in equipment, and should be an inexpensive procedure to perform. Unfortunately, the complete scientific information necessary to assess its diagnostic reliability is not available. This article discusses other experiments which have been performed to assess the diagnostic accuracy of tests for low back pain and sciatica and outline some features of an experimental protocol which would be essential to establish the reliability of thermography in the diagnosis of low back pain and sciatica due to herniated nucleus pulposus.