Abstract
Background: the aim of this study was to compare the echotexture of patients with soleus muscle injury and age matched controls. Methods: a sample of 62 athletes was recruited at the private clinic and was divided in two group: a healthy group (n = 31) and a soleus pathology group whose athletes had soleus muscle injury, located in the central tendon (n = 31). The muscle thickness (MTh), echointensity (EI) and echovariation (EV) were analyzed. An intra-rater reliability test (Intraclass Correlation Coefficient-ICC) was performed in order to analyze the reliability of the values of the measurements. Results: Sociodemographic variables did not show statistically significant differences (p > 0.05). Ultrasound imaging measurements who reported statistically significant differences were EI (p = 0.001) and standard deviation (SD) (p = 0.001). MTh and EV variables did not show statistically significant differences (p = 0.381 and p = 0.364, respectively). Moreover, reliability values for the MTh (ICC = 0.911), EI (ICC = 0.982), SD (ICC = 0.955) and EV (ICC = 0.963). Based on these results the intra-rater reliability was considered excellent. Conclusion: Athletes with a central tendon injury of soleus muscle showed a lower EI when they were compared to healthy athletes. The echogenicity showed by the quantitative ultrasound imaging measurement may be a more objective parameter for the diagnosis and follow-up the soleus muscle injuries.
Highlights
The connective tissue plays an important role within the lower limb muscles, mainly rectus femoris, biceps femoris, gastrocnemius and soleus
In the present cross-sectional study, the assessment of the echoestructure and echotexture, as well as the intra-rater reliability, of each variable was performed in the soleus muscle of athletes with and without pathology
The main finding of the present study was that echotexture features differentiated athletes with a central tendon (CT) injury of soleus muscle from the healthy athletes
Summary
The connective tissue plays an important role within the lower limb muscles, mainly rectus femoris, biceps femoris, gastrocnemius and soleus. This structure may be named in different terms, as intramuscular tendon, connective tissue, central tendon or aponeurosis and present variability between individuals [1]. Soleus muscle pathologies were presented in several sports modalities (e.g., soccer, basketball, volleyball, classic dance). The soleus muscle is part of the posterior region of the leg [2]. There is a lack of documentation about the morphological aspect in the dissection anatomy of the soleus muscle. Recent studies showed that soleus muscle has two aponeuroses (medial and lateral) and an intramuscular tendon (IMT). The ITM is visualized in the central part of the muscle, being an attaching point of the muscle fibers and contributing to the formation of the Achilles tendon [3,4]
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