What was the first thing that caught your attention about the technology?

My initial introduction to the technology was brought to me by our Director of Strength and Conditioning, Corey Miller, who had previously seen the technology used at the Carolina Panthers during his time as an assistant there in 2023-2024. Specifically, he spoke about the non-invasive nature of the technology, and how it could be used as an initial check in on guys in the first few days after a game.

How does ThermoHuman help you in your workflow? What extra value does it bring?

Thermohuman helps provide a non-invasive scan on our players. This provides the benefit of starting a more targeted recovery process earlier in the week following a game, in hopes that we have a more prepared and fresher athlete by gameday. Also, the nature of taking the scan gives the athlete an opportunity to speak freely about any ailments they may have suffered in the game or practice, which may not have been spoken out loud otherwise. This allows our athletic medicine team to treat with more precision, and for our Strength & Conditioning Staff to modify if needed during training.

How do you communicate the information provided by the software to the players?

The information is aggregated into a Defensive Report and an Offensive Report directly after scans are finished in the morning. These PDFs, as well as any other voiced concerns by the athlete, are documented and sent to all stakeholders within the High-Performance Team via email.

How do you integrate ThermoHuman into your routine?

Our typical routine includes scans on Tuesday morning for our high-minute players and anyone coming off of residual ailments from the week before. Those who present with elevated symptoms are then scanned again on Wednesday as a follow up for reliability and to track if any progress has been made. Our return to play (RTP) athletes have a separate routine in which they are scanned weekly on Tuesdays and also following any major shifts or progressions in their training. This gives our RTP Specialist, Allison Ebert, and our RTP Strength and Conditioning Coach, Tim Hicks, valuable information regarding the internal effects these athletes are experiencing following a new stimulus in training. Specifically, it provides key insights into things like inhibition, localized inflammation, and compensatory movement strategies.

Can you describe any particular or interesting case where the technology has helped you?

• CAUSE:
  We recently had an athlete on our team who experienced a hamstring strain during a game, which of course raised concern amongst the High Peformance Team.
• BACKGROUND:
  Has an injury history of a fractured ankle last season.
  Lacks dorsiflexion range of motion due to this injury, but also had a deficit prior to this injury.
  Can produce high outputs on our Force Plates and GPS (top speed).
• FEEDBACK LOOP:
• STEP 1 (DIAGNOSIS): The initial directive after the injury was to capture a scan and see under the hood of what his body was experiencing
  What we saw was an extremely "cold" response in his quad area on both sides. This was seen using the softened coefficient of variation filter.
• STEP 2 (HYPOTHESIS):
  After watching his movement from the previous two weeks of practice and communicating with the high performance team, we made the assumption that he was experiencing quad inhibition and was choosing to utilize a more "hinge-biased" movement strategy on the field and in the weight room. This allowed him to play and train with less range of motion (ROM) required, but put him in extreme anterior pelvic tilt.
  We also suspected that this athlete's biomechanical strategies were heavily influenced by the athletes position, defensive back.
  These positional requirements:
  Encourage persistent anterior pelvic tilt.
  Reduce access to anterior-chain loading.
  Increase reliance on the hamstrings for pelvic control and force production.
  Reinforce compensatory patterns already present due to his ankle ROM limitations.
• STEP 3 (INTERVENTION):
  Restore ankle ROM.
  Load the anterior leg musculature with ISOs and traditional strength work that focused on full ROM.
  Get his pelvis back to a neutral state .
• STEP 4 (CONCLUSION):
  The post-intervention scan (A–C) demonstrated an immediate and meaningful reduction in quad inhibition, indicating improved neuromuscular recruitment and greater access to the anterior chain. These changes confirmed that restoring ankle mobility, reloading the quadriceps through full ROM strength work, and re-centering the pelvis were effective in interrupting the hinge dominant, anterior-tilt strategy we initially identified.
  However, once the athlete was released back to full activity, the intervention was paused. The most recent scan (D) shows a clear return of quad inhibition, mirroring the original pattern. This regression reinforces a critical point: a short-term intervention cannot create lasting change in a deeply ingrained movement strategy.
  The positional demands of playing defensive back naturally pull the athlete back into anterior pelvic tilt and posterior-chain overreliance. Without sustained exposure to the intervention, particularly anterior chain loading, ankle ROM restoration, and pelvis control, the athlete reverts to the compensatory strategy that contributed to both the inhibition and the hamstring strain.
  This highlights the necessity of maintaining the intervention long enough to fully remodel the movement strategy and allow it to transfer to on-field environments.

Case study: Hamstring strain monitored with thermography

John provided detailed answers to most questions, including a case study on an athlete's hamstring strain recovery. Thanks to his contribution.