Sonoelastography of Multifidus, Piriformis, Quadratus Lumborum, and Gluteus Medius Muscles in Patients with Unilateral Discogenic Lumbar Pain and Healthy Subjects: A Reliability Study.

Abstract

This study aimed to estimate the within-day and between-day reliabilities of sonoelastography to measure the strain ratios of lumbopelvic muscles, including multifidus (MF), piriformis (P), quadratus lumborum (QL), and gluteus medius (GM), in a resting position by the sonoelastography device in both patients with unilateral discogenic lumbar pain and healthy individuals. Failthe treatment of deep infection of peri-articular fracture fixation. First of all, the participants (n=25) were enrolled in this study, including patients (n=15) and healthy subjects (n=10). In the first session, an examiner estimated the strain ratio of lumbopelvic muscle three times by sonoelastography. The last session was held at a one-week interval. The collected data were analyzed using an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and a standard error of measurement. The ICC calculated for MF, P, QL, and GM measurements indicated good to excellent reliabilities in both healthy and patient groups for within- and between-intra-examiner reliabilities, which were obtained at 0.94-0.91 and 0.86-0.86, 0.87-0.89 and 0.82-0.82, 0.88-0.86 and 0.86-0.86, 0.88-0.84 and 0.84-0.84, respectively. Furthermore, the standard errors of intra-examiner reliability for MF, P, QL, and GM strain ratio measurements in both healthy and subject groups were estimated at the ranges of 0.52-0.51 and 0.64-0.65, 0.60-0.62 and 0.77-0.78, 0.23-0.25 and 0.25-0.25, 0.25-026 and 0.30-0.35, respectively. The results revealed that sonoelastography seemed to be a reliable instrument to measure MF, P, QL, and GM muscle strain ratios in healthy subjects and patients with unilateral lumbar radicular pain. However, further studies are recommended to support the findings of the present study in other patients.