Thermography has been utilized in medical practice since the beginning of medicine itself. In fact, the father of medicine, Hippocrates used thermography first by covering a person in mud and then observing on which part of the body the mud dried first, thus establishing where the pathology could be found. D.D. Palmer used skin surface temperature to aid in diagnosis. It cannot be overstated how valuable the use of thermography is in the clinical practice of chiropractic. Thermography is used as much in veterinary medicine as it is in allopathic medicine.
Studies using thermography as a diagnostic tool are numerous.
Thermography is used in small animal medicine as well as equine and large animal practice. In these animals, the coccygeal muscle was injured traumatically. Thermography was used to help diagnose the problem. Thermography has broad applications in medicine and dentistry. Dentists have been using thermography to assess facial pain, TMJ conditions, implants, root canals, facial nerve injuries and other conditions.