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Myofascial pain syndrome is a common musculoskeletal pain disorder characterized by the presence of myofascial trigger points (MTrPs). The diagnosis of myofascial pain syndrome is currently made on clinical grounds. Numerous diagnostic criteria are used to identify myofascial pain syndrome, including the localization of MTrPs. Identifying the presence of MTrPs currently requires the physician to palpate the symptomatic region. Because the interrater reliability of the palpation technique has been found to be poor, numerous groups have been interested in finding objective imaging measures to localize the MTrP. This comprehensive review focuses on summarizing ultrasound imaging techniques that have shown promise in visually localizing the trigger point. The authors' literature search identified three sonographic approaches that have been used in MTrP localization: conventional gray-scale imaging, Doppler imaging, and elastographic ultrasound imaging. This review article explains the basic physics behind the imaging methods and summarizes the characteristics of the MTrP as identified by the ultrasonic techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Exercise intolerance is prevalent in individuals with Turner Syndrome (TS). We recently demonstrated that girls with TS have normal aerobic but altered skeletal muscle anaerobic metabolism compared to healthy controls (HC). The purpose of this study was to compare peripheral skeletal muscle microvascular function in girls with TS to HC after exercise. We hypothesized that girls with TS would have similar muscle blood-oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) signal responses during recovery from exercise compared to HC., Methods: Thirteen TS participants and 8 HC completed testing. BOLD MRI was used to measure skeletal muscle microvascular response during 60 second recovery, following 60 s of exercise at 65% of maximal workload. Exercise and recovery were repeated four times, and the BOLD signal time course was fit to a four-parameter sigmoid function., Results: Participants were 13.7 ± 3.1 years old and weighed 47.9 ± 14.6 kg. The mean change in BOLD signal intensity following exercise at the end of recovery, the mean response time of the function/the washout of deoxyhemoglobin, and the mean half-time of recovery were similar between the TS and HC groups., Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that compared to HC, peripheral skeletal muscle microvascular function following exercise in girls with TS is not impaired., General Significance: This study supports the idea that the aerobic energy pathway is not impaired in children with TS in response to submaximal exercise. Other mechanisms are likely responsible for exercise intolerance in TS; this needs to be further investigated.

Objective: The objective of this study was to establish normative diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) eigenvalues (λ1,λ2,λ3), apparent diffusion coefficient, and fractional anisotropy in asymptomatic foot muscles., Methods: Ten healthy adults (mean [SD], 25.9 [4.3] years) were examined using a 3-T magnetic resonance imaging scanner. Diffusion tensor imaging indices were evaluated in 5 muscles in the foot: quadratus plantae, abductor hallucis, flexor hallucis brevis, flexor digitorum brevis, and abductor digiti minimi. Signal-to-noise ratio was also measured for each muscle., Results: In the various foot muscles, λ1 ranged from 1.88 × 10 to 2.14 × 10 mm/s, λ2 ranged from 1.39 × 10 to 1.48 × 10 mm/s, and λ3 ranged from 0.91 × 10 to 1.27 × 10 mm/s; apparent diffusion coefficient ranged from 1.48 × 10 to 1.55 × 10 mm/s; and fractional anisotropy ranged from 0.21 to 0.40. Statistical differences were seen in some eigenvalues between muscle pairs. Mean signal-to-noise ranged from 47.5 to 69.1 in the various muscles examined., Conclusions: Assessment of anisotropy of water diffusion in foot muscles was feasible using DTI. The measured DTI metrics in the foot were similar to those in calf and thigh skeletal muscles.