Football believes that a plague of injuries lives, so it has been thrown into a Spanish technology to prevent them

Infrared thermography applied to professional sport is gaining ground as a very useful tool for injury prevention and the optimization of the performance of the players themselves and athletes. Themohumana Spanish company specialized in this technology, has made elite teams such as Real Madrid, Atlético de Madrid or Girona, among many others, incorporate their systems into their physical preparation routines.

What is this technology and how. Thermohuman is a system that combines thermographic cameras with artificial intelligence software to analyze the body temperature of athletes. Although there is a lot of chicha after its technology, the process of capturing and analysis of the data is relatively simple: a thermal chamber captures images of the player’s body, and the software uses artificial vision algorithms to automatically recognize the human figure and segment it in more than 110 different body regions.

Capture process through thermal cameras. Image: Girona FC

The key is in the detection of thermal asymmetries between symmetrical areas of the body. When there is a significant temperature difference between, for example, the right leg and the left can indicate the presence of a muscle overload, inflammation or the beginning of an injury. According to the firm All this analysis is completed in less than 30 seconds, generating automatic reports with advanced metrics and intelligent alerts.

Precision and detail in injury prevention. Medical thermography is not a novelty, but its automation does represent an important qualitative leap. As Explain The company, the traditional thermograms analysis methods required manual processes that took some more time to professionals for analysis and decision making. Themohuman says having reduced this time to less than 20 seconds, with a reliability greater than 96%.

In addition, the system is not limited to offering a snapshot of the moment: it creates a history of each athlete that allows identifying patterns and anomalies based on historical data. This means that it can detect subtle variations that could go unnoticed in a traditional physical examination.

Software in which the information is processed and analyzed, with detailed patterns for each player. Image: Girona FC

Real Madrid also joins this technology. Incorporating it into the first team From the hand of Ismael Fernández, CEO of Thermohuman and new member of Xabi Alonso’s coaching staff. Although the club I already used the system In your basketball team and women’s soccer team, it is now part of the Comprehensive Strategy for the Prevention of Lesions of the First Team. Xabi will integrate technology along with other systems such as drones for tactical analysis and advanced GPS technologies.

This is already used in the rest of clubs. The use protocol varies according to the club, but generally includes regular measurements for both healthy players and those in the process of recovery. The Gironafor example, performs evaluations after each party and two days before the next meeting, which allows them to adjust the training loads individually.

The Atlético de Madrid He was a pioneer in LaLiga in using the Themohuman method in the 2017/2018 season. And in other international examples, such as The case of Aston VillaThey use the system weekly as part of their fatigue and recovery management strategy.

More companies that offer infrared thermography applied to sport. Other outstanding companies in this area are prein, with A software based on artificial intelligence To prevent injuries, and Omniathletean Italian consultant with more than two decades of experience. There are also solutions such as Thermidswhich offers portable systems to monitor sports performance. As for hardware, there are companies like Teledyne flir either Themoteknix which offer thermal cameras and infrared sensors, the technological base of thermography by infrared.

Among other prominent measurement technologies we have also seen in the world of sport The GPS Potosthat a good part of the elite clubs use them to record the performance of each player at the individual level.

Tech science in sport is not everything. The theoretical practical utility is in the prevention, monitoring of the recovery and management of players’ fatigue. According to Atlético de Madrid, in 2018 the use of its thermographic protocol registered 70 % less muscle injuries (from 15 to 6) and Thermuman endorse in your studies A 90 % reduction on low days.

These types of technologies are very valuable in modern football, where the burden of matches and training can lead players to the limit of their physical abilities. However, although they have greatly helped physical trainers, there are few voices of experts who talk about Increased injuries.

Edu Pons, Physical Exparter in different categories of Barça and now professor and researcher at INEFC Lleida, I commented for example that the bibs are increasing injuries because “there is more and more intensity and density.” “Yes it is true that it can help you train or value the load better, but I am not in favor of stating that it is the panacea.” “They also help good recovery methods after a party or training, as well as a good prevention work.” And it is that in a world with more monitoring than ever, injuries are still very frequent, so technology must also be accompanied by good physical preparation.

Cover image | Girona FC and Real Madrid exclusive

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