Abstract
In children, the quality and muscle function are altered in many pathologic conditions, including temporomandibular disorders. Although several methods have been used to evaluate muscle tonus, none became a golden standard. Moreover, the masseter muscle characteristics in children have not been investigated to date. This study aimed to measure the stiffness of the masseter muscle using shear-wave elastography in healthy children. We enrolled 30 healthy children (mean age 10.87 ± 3.38 years). The stiffness of masseter muscles was measured with shear wave elastography. Stiffness for the total sample was 6.37 ± 0.77 kPa. A comparison of the measurements did not show significant differences between the right and the left masseter muscles (left—6.47 ± 0.78 kPa; right—6.24 ± 0.76 kPa; p = 0.3546). A significant difference was seen between boys and girls (boys—5.94 ± 0.50 kPa; girls—6.63 ± 0.80; p = 0.0006). Shear-wave elastography is a promising diagnostic tool. It may help to detect changes in the stiffness of the masseter muscle and draw attention to pathological processes within the jaw muscles. Directions for further research shall include determining stiffness values in pathological conditions and the impact of biological and functional factors on the stiffness of the masseter muscle.
Highlights
The quality and muscle function are altered in many pathologic conditions
In children, disturbed muscle functioning can be associated with hereditary diseases [1], injuries to the brain resulting in cerebral palsy [2], juvenile idiopathic arthritis [3], locomotor system disabilities [4] and temporomandibular disorders (TMD) [5]
The present study showed that in healthy children, the stiffness of the masseter muscle
Summary
In children, disturbed muscle functioning can be associated with hereditary diseases (muscular and neuromuscular dystrophies) [1], injuries to the brain resulting in cerebral palsy [2], juvenile idiopathic arthritis [3], locomotor system disabilities [4] and temporomandibular disorders (TMD) [5]. TMD is an umbrella term that embraces chronic pain conditions and dysfunction in the orofacial region affecting the masticatory muscles, the temporomandibular joints and their associated structures. The prevalence of TMD in the general adult population in Poland is estimated to be as high as 55.9% [9]. Such data are not available in the population of Polish children and adolescents, but the available studies on other country populations indicate that TMD prevalence in children and adolescents range from 7.3% to 30.4% [10,11], the
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