Acta Gymnica e2026.012 | DOI: 10.5507/ag.2026.012

Infrared thermography of the quadriceps during early passive recovery (0-6 min) after incremental exercise in professional female volleyball athletes

Josivaldo de Souza-Lima¹, Héctor Sanhueza-Tapia¹, Catalina Muñoz-Strale¹, Javiera Alarcón-Aguilar¹, Rodrigo Yáñez-Sepúlveda^{1, 2}, Daniel Duclos-Bastías^{3, 4}, Andrés Godoy-Cumillaf⁵, Frano Giakoni-Ramírez¹

¹ School of Sport Sciences, Faculty of Education and Humanities, Andrés Bello University, Las Condes, Santiago, Chile

² School of Medicine, University of Espíritu Santo, Samborondón, Ecuador

³ iGEO Research, School of Physical Education, Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso, Valparaiso, Chile

⁴ METIS Research Group, Faculty of Business and Technology, Alfonso X the Wise University, Madrid, Spain

⁵ Research Group on Physical Education, Health and Quality of Life (EFISAL), Faculty of Education, Autonomous University of Chile, Temuco, Chile

Background: Infrared thermography (IRT) is increasingly applied to monitor muscle temperature during recovery, offering insight into thermoregulatory and vascular responses after exercise. However, evidence linking early post-exercise skin temperature changes with systemic markers such as oxygen uptake and lactate remains limited.

Objective: To analyze the early passive recovery behavior of quadriceps skin temperature (0-6 min) after a progressive exercise test in trained female volleyball athletes and examine its association with aerobic capacity and blood lactate.

Methods: Twenty professional female volleyball players completed a progressive treadmill test until volitional fatigue. Skin temperature of the rectus femoris and vastus lateralis was measured via IRT immediately after exercise cessation (minute 0) and during minutes 1-6 of passive recovery. Aerobic capacity (VO₂peak) was assessed through breath-by-breath gas analysis, and blood lactate was obtained at rest, immediately post-exercise, and at 3 min of recovery. Temperature change (ΔT) and thermal slope (°C.min^-1) were calculated. Pearson correlations and multiple regression models were applied.

Results: Minimal skin temperature change occurred within the first 6 min of recovery. Both muscle regions exhibited high coherence in thermal responses (ΔT and slope correlations r = .76-.91, ps < .001). Neither VO₂peak nor lactate levels significantly predicted thermal behavior (all ps > .05). Early cooling patterns appeared primarily regulated by autonomic vascular adjustments rather than aerobic fitness or lactate kinetics.

Conclusions: In professional female volleyball players, quadriceps skin temperature remains relatively stable during early passive recovery after incremental exercise, and this response is unrelated to aerobic capacity or lactate removal. Early post-exercise IRT reflects local vasomotor regulation, suggesting that longer monitoring windows and multimodal physiological assessments are needed for a comprehensive evaluation of recovery.

Keywords: thermography, vasodilation, lactates, oxygen consumption, athletic performance, recovery of function, volleyball

Received: December 4, 2025; Revised: August 26, 2026; Accepted: August 27, 2026; Published online: November 9, 2026  Show citation