Skip to main content
Physiatry '25 Main banner
Final Program


Final Program

531 - Meralgia Paresthetica Seen Through Infrared Thermography: A Case Report

Thursday, February 27, 2025
5:00 PM - 6:30 PM MST

    Presenting Author(s)

  • AD

    Akash Dontamsetty, BS

    OMS-IV
    Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine - Harlem
    Monroe, New Jersey, United States

    • Co-Author(s)

  • SM

    Santos A. Martinez, BS

    3rd Year Medical Student
    Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University
    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

  • MW

    Maitland B. Wiren, DO

    Resident Physician
    Temple University PM&R Department
    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Case Diagnosis: Meralgia Paresthetica (MP) is a mononeuropathy of the lateral cutaneous nerve of the thigh (LCNT) that has historically been a clinical diagnosis. Infrared thermography (IT), a noninvasive imaging technique, has been proposed as a modality to help diagnose MP. It works by detecting skin temperature changes which indicate underlying autonomic nerve damage that controls thermoregulation, such as in a compressive neuropathy resulting in increased blood flow and skin temperature changes. This case report details the use of IT for aiding the diagnosis of an individual with MP.

Case Description:

A 51-year-old female with chronic low back pain after a motor vehicle accident presented to clinic with a four month history of daily, constant burning pain along the right anterolateral thigh worsened by walking and alleviated by lying on her left side. Prior steroid injections, oral NSAIDs, and diclofenac gel did not provide any relief. 

 

On exam, the patient was unable to perform one legged stance, tandem walk, or oblique hip extension due to pain. Sensory examination and reflexes were normal over the affected leg.

 

Skin temperature was captured using Teledyne FLIR ©. Imaging revealed increased temperatures via the temperature-color gradient on the right anterolateral thigh compared to the left, supporting the clinical diagnosis of meralgia paresthetica by showing the thermodysregulation consistent with a mononeuropathy.

Discussions: The LCNT originates from the L2-L3 nerve roots and can become entrapped, causing MP. The temperature asymmetry detected with IT is consistent with how IT is used to help diagnose CRPS and diabetic neuropathy. The benefits of IT are that it requires less resources, is more cost efficient, and is better tolerated than other modalities conventionally used.

Conclusions: Infrared thermography can be a useful tool in aiding the diagnosis of Meralgia paresthetica, a historically clinical diagnosis.