Abstract
BackgroundDiagnostic ultrasound provides a method of analysing soft tissue structures of the musculoskeletal system effectively and reliably. The aim of this study was to evaluate within and between session reliability of measuring muscle dorso-plantar thickness, medio-lateral length and cross-sectional area, of the abductor hallucis muscle using two different ultrasound machines, a higher end Philips HD11 Ultrasound machine and clinically orientated Chison 8300 Deluxe Digital Portable Ultrasound System.MethodsThe abductor hallucis muscle of both the left and right feet of thirty asymptomatic participants was imaged and then measured using both ultrasound machines. Interclass correlation coefficients (ICC) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used to calculate both within and between session intra-tester reliability. Standard error of the measurement (SEM) calculations were undertaken to assess difference between the actual measured score across trials and the smallest real difference (SRD) was calculated from the SEM to indicate the degree of change that would exceed the expected trial to trial variability.ResultsThe ICCs, SEM and SRD for dorso-plantar thickness and medial-lateral length were shown to have excellent to high within and between-session reliability for both ultrasound machines. The between-session reliability indices for cross-sectional area were acceptable for both ultrasound machines.ConclusionThe results of the current study suggest that regardless of the type ultrasound machine, intra-tester reliability for the measurement the abductor hallucis muscle parameters is very high.
Highlights
The widespread interest in the use of ultrasound (US) imaging in the musculoskeletal area over the last decade has lead to improvements in technology and the development of smaller less expensive machines with improved resolution [1]
The aim of the study was to evaluate within- and between-session reliability of measuring muscle dorso-plantar thickness, medio-lateral length and cross-sectional area of the abductor hallucis muscle using two different US machines commonly used in different scopes of clinical practice
Philips Q-lab Software (Release 5.0) was employed for data quantification from the images taken from the Philips HD11, and the Chison 8300 inbuilt software was used for the images captured on that machine
Summary
The widespread interest in the use of ultrasound (US) imaging in the musculoskeletal area over the last decade has lead to improvements in technology and the development of smaller less expensive machines with improved resolution [1]. US has been reported to be a costeffective and highly feasible method, among the imaging modalities, to measure muscle dorso-plantar thickness, medio-lateral width and cross-sectional area of muscles [2,3]. The abductor hallucis is one of the muscles that has been reported to be adversely affected in hallux valgus and in diabetic neuropathy. Understanding muscle parameters of the abductor hallucis may change the way practitioners manage pes planus, posterior tibial tendon dysfunction, hallux valgus, and Charcot neuroarthropathy [5-9]. The aim of this study was to evaluate within and between session reliability of measuring muscle dorso-plantar thickness, medio-lateral length and cross-sectional area, of the abductor hallucis muscle using two different ultrasound machines, a higher end Philips HD11 Ultrasound machine and clinically orientated Chison 8300 Deluxe Digital Portable Ultrasound System
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