Clinical synthesis of modality roles when IRT is used as a functional marker in WMSD-oriented assessments (corpus-derived from the master data extraction spreadsheet; n = 247).
| Modality | Clinical “signal” captured (as recorded in outcomes_measures/comparator_reference) | Typical clinical targets in the corpus (body region/condition_wmsd) | How it is used with IRT in the corpus (comparator_reference/multimodal_components) | Practical constraints and failure modes most commonly reported (limitations_bias_notes/protocol_key_points) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IRT | Surface thermal metrics (absolute temperature; side-to-side asymmetry; ΔT/change/gradients; hot/cold patterning; rewarming/kinetic metrics when dynamic protocols are used) | Upper limb (hand/wrist/forearm), lower back, knee, shoulder; occupationally framed symptom/risk contexts and mixed clinical MSK conditions (including neuropathic/vascular phenotypes in some subdomains) | Primary functional layer; used as baseline + post-task/provocation + recovery mapping; frequently paired with patient-reported measures and, less often, with objective neuromuscular or imaging comparators | High sensitivity to environment/protocol; incomplete protocol reporting; ROI/operator dependence; small samples/pilot designs; cross-sectional or short follow-up commonly noted |
| MSK ultrasound (with and without Doppler) | Structural/soft-tissue and (when Doppler is present) perfusion-adjacent signals explicitly described as “ultrasound/sonography” and “Doppler/PD” | Joints and peripheral segments (e.g., hand/wrist/fingers; foot; elbow), with recurring rheumatologic/degenerative and regional pain contexts in the corpus | Used as anatomical/structural comparator or complementary component in multimodal designs; typically deployed to contextualize IRT patterns with segment-level structural information | Operator dependence and ROI localization; heterogeneity of acquisition/reporting; limited direct workplace deployment in the corpus; protocol/environment sensitivity still reported in multimodal subsets |
| MRI | Deep structural imaging explicitly described as MRI/magnetic resonance | Regional MSK pain syndromes, degenerative spinal contexts, and injury-related contexts in the corpus; multiple anatomical regions represented | Used as a structural comparator in multimodal/secondary synthesis contexts (i.e., to anchor structural interpretation when IRT is used functionally) | Not interchangeable with IRT (different signal domain); limited occupational/workplace deployment in the corpus; frequent reliance on secondary synthesis designs; “specificity/gold standard” concerns occasionally noted |
| EMG/NCS (electrodiagnostics) | Neuromuscular activation and peripheral nerve function explicitly described as EMG and/or NCS | Upper-limb neuropathic/compressive phenotypes dominate (hand/wrist/fingers; CTS and other compressive neuropathies appear repeatedly in condition_wmsd) | Used to provide an objective functional comparator for neuromuscular/nerve involvement when IRT is used as a surface-functional marker; occasionally embedded as a multimodal layer in diagnostic/assessment workflows | Operator/placement dependence; protocol sensitivity; small samples; heterogeneity of thresholds and reference standards; limited workplace implementation in the corpus (mostly clinical/lab or secondary synthesis) |
| DYNAStrength testing | Force/strength endpoints explicitly described as dynamometry, grip strength, torque/isokinetic testing | Frequently linked to functional capacity contexts (upper limb/shoulder; low back in some designs; healthy/task paradigms also present) | Used as objective functional output alongside IRT (e.g., workload/fatigue/provocation paradigms) to triangulate functional impact | Small sample/pilot designs; variability in task standardization; protocol sensitivity; limited direct occupational/workplace deployment in the corpus |
| PROsVAS and questionnaires | Patient-reported pain/function metrics explicitly described as VAS and/or questionnaires/scales | Broad across ROIs; recurrent in upper limb, knee, shoulder, and exercise/overuse-type paradigms; includes occupationally relevant symptom/function capture | Most common complementary layer paired with IRT; used to align functional thermal patterns with symptom burden and perceived function | Instrument heterogeneity; cross-sectional designs; limited uniformity in timing relative to IRT acquisition; reporting variability in multimodal subsets |
IRT: infrared thermography; MSK: musculoskeletal; MRI: magnetic resonance imaging; EMG: electromyography; NCS: nerve conduction studies; DYNA: dynamometry/strength testing; PROs: patient-reported outcomes; VAS: visual analog scale; ROIs: regions of interest; ΔT: temperature difference; PD: power Doppler.