Abstract
Ultrasound muscle images have been extensively used as tools for investigating, diagnosing and monitoring thigh muscles. However, there is a lack of information examining ultrasound reliability of quadriceps and hamstrings images for research and clinical use. Objectives: To determine the reliability of muscle thickness (MT), echo intensity (EI) and cross sectional area (CSA) of quadriceps and hamstrings muscle groups. Methods: Single transverse images of the rectus femoris (RF), vastus intermedius (VI), vastus medialis (VM), vastus lateralis (VL), biceps femoris long head (BFlh), semitendinosus (ST), and semimembranosus (SM) muscles were scanned in the right and left legs of ten healthy collegiate men (age 23.4 ± 2.2 yrs, mass 71.7 ± 11.7 kg, height 1.73 ± 0.06 m) between two sessions with one day interval. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs), standard error of measurement (SEM), and minimum difference to be considered “real” (MD) were measured for MT, EI, and CSA. Results: A range of 0.97-0.99, 0.83-0.88, and 0.86-0.97 (ICC); 0.72-1.38, 2.73-3.41, and 0.36-1.04 (SEM); and 2.01-3.82, 7.56-9.46, and 0.99-2.89 (MD) were found for quadriceps muscles, and 0.93-0.99, 0.74-0.90, and 0.89-0.96 (ICC); 0.73-1.94, 3.29-4.98, and 0.69-1.08 (SEM); and 2.03-5.38, 9.13-13.81, and 1.91-2.98 (MD) were found for hamstrings muscles. Conclusions: These results suggest that ultrasound imaging of both quadriceps and hamstrings muscle architecture is a reliable technique for assessing thigh musculoskeletal tissue. The anatomical sites, as well as ultrasound adjustments, images, and results utilized here may assist future researchers and clinicians as reference tools when measuring quadriceps and hamstrings musculature.
Highlights
Ultrasound is an effective, non-invasive technique to detect muscle architecture (Finlay & Friedman, 2006; Nazarian, 2008)
The means and SD, Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs), standard error of measurement (SEM, absolute reliability), and minimum difference to be considered “real” (MD) for muscle thickness (MT), echo intensity (EI) and cross sectional area (CSA) of the quadriceps rectus femoris (RF), vastus intermedius (VI), vastus lateralis (VL) and vastus medialis (VM), and hamstrings biceps femoris long head (BFlh), ST and SM muscles are presented in tables 1 and 2
ICCs for MT, EI and CSA for all muscles were in a range from 0.97-0.99, 0.830.88, and 0.86-0.97 for quadriceps muscles, and 0.93-0.99, 0.74-0.90, and 0.89-0.96 for hamstrings muscles (p
Summary
Ultrasound is an effective, non-invasive technique to detect muscle architecture (Finlay & Friedman, 2006; Nazarian, 2008). The sound waves are partly transmitted through skin and muscle tissues, and reflected back as processed and combined echo signals to generate images (Chan & Perlas, 2011). Architecture ultrasound measurements, such as muscle thickness (MT), echo-intensity (EI) and cross sectional area (CSA) of lower extremity muscles are commonly used in research and clinical practice (Caresio, Molinari, Emanuel, & Minetto, 2015; Noorkoiv, Nosaka, & Blazevich, 2010; Palmer, Akehi, Thiele, Smith, & Thompson, 2015; Pinto et al, 2014). Reliability of MT has not been described for specific muscles of the quadriceps and hamstrings
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