The Association between Tensiomyography and Elastography Stiffness Measurements in Lower Limb Skeletal Muscles.

Abdulrahman M Alfuraih,Sara Alghanim,Hana I Alsobayel,Ahmed Alhowimel,Abdulaziz Aljamaan,Yaaqoub Khayat

doi:10.3390/s22031206

Abdulrahman M Alfuraih, Sara Alghanim + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/s22031206

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Abstract

The objective was to test the measurements association between tensiomyography (TMG) and shear wave elastography (SWE) when evaluating the skeletal muscle stiffness of healthy subjects. The secondary objective was to evaluate the effect of superficial non-muscular tissues thickness on the measurements. A cross-sectional study was conducted with adults who are asymptomatic and had no previous history of musculoskeletal conditions. The vastus lateralis (VL) and biceps femoris (BF) muscle contraction was tested using TMG and SWE. The TMG parameters included time of contraction (Tc), sustain time (Ts), relaxation time (Tr), delay time (Td), and maximal displacement (Dm). The skin, subcutaneous fat, and fascia thicknesses were investigated using ultrasound imaging. A total of 25 participants were enrolled in the study. Six participants were females (24%). The mean age (SD) was 26.5 years (4.7). There was a statistically significant difference (p < 0.001) in SWE between VL (8.1 kPa) compared with the BF (10.8 kPa). As for Dm, which reflects stiffness in TMG, no difference was detected (p = 0.90), as both muscles had a maximum displacement of 3.7 mm. The correlation coefficients failed to detect any significant correlation (r ≤ 0.300, p ≥ 0.1) between SWE and TMG variables. There was no significant difference between male and female participants across all TMG and SWE variables (p > 0.10). Overall, there was no association between TMG parameters and SWE measurements, indicating that each technique might be evaluating a different biomechanical property of skeletal muscle.

Highlights

Skeletal muscles are complex structures with unique biomechanical properties
Shear wave elastography (SWE) is a relatively new technique based on ultrasound that can accurately and reliably estimate soft tissue stiffness [5]
Sustain and relaxation times were significantly different between vastus lateralis and biceps femoris (p < 0.001 and p = 0.007, respectively)

Summary

Introduction

Skeletal muscles are complex structures with unique biomechanical properties. Stiffness in mechanical context is related to the resistance of a body against an applied force to change its length which involves deformable bodies possessing elastic energies [1,2]. There are several non-invasive techniques for assessing muscle stiffness. Shear wave elastography (SWE) is a relatively new technique based on ultrasound that can accurately and reliably estimate soft tissue stiffness [5]. It can detect altered muscle stiffness with increasing age [6], chronic neck pain [7], Duchenne muscular dystrophy [8], glucocorticoid treatment [9], and several other pathologies [10]. TMG facilitates reliable and non-invasive assessment of skeletal muscles in athletes [11], for assessing low back pain [13], and for evaluating overall muscle function and fatigue [11,14]. A recent article reviewed the technique in-depth and discussed its role for several applications [12]

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