1. Shear Wave Elastographic Study of the Myotendinous Junction of the Medial Gastrocnemius
- Author
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Vito Cantisani, Raffaella Giovagnorio, Gianni Mazzoni, Paolo Minafra, and Federica Alviti
- Subjects
Adult ,Male ,Contraction (grammar) ,Adolescent ,Medial gastrocnemius ,Socio-culturale ,030218 nuclear medicine & medical imaging ,Tendons ,Young Adult ,stiffness ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,elasticity, musculoskeletal ultrasound, myotendinous junction, shear wave elastography, stiffness ,medicine ,Humans ,Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and imaging ,Myotendinous junction ,Muscle, Skeletal ,shear wave elastography ,Shear wave elastography ,030219 obstetrics & reproductive medicine ,Radiological and Ultrasound Technology ,business.industry ,Stiffness ,Mean age ,Anatomy ,musculoskeletal system ,elasticity ,musculoskeletal ultrasound ,myotendinous junction ,Tendon ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,Elasticity Imaging Techniques ,Female ,medicine.symptom ,business ,Muscle Contraction ,Muscle contraction - Abstract
Objectives The myotendinous junction (MTJ) represents a specialized anatomic region through which the contractile strength is transmitted from the muscle to the tendon. The integrity of this region is essential to permit force transmission and to optimize energy expenditure during walking, running, and globally for human movement. We evaluated the MTJ with shear wave elastography to assess its elasticity variation during a functional test. Methods Forty professional soccer players were enrolled in the study. Shear wave elastography was performed at the level of the medial gastrocnemius MTJ both in a resting position and during a standing calf rise position to assess functional contraction. Results All 40 participants were male, aged between 18 and 38 years (mean age, 25 years). The results of the elastographic study showed mean stiffness values ± SD of 4.19 ± 0.86 m/s for the right medial gastrocnemius and 4.20 ± 0.87 m/s for the left medial gastrocnemius with the muscle relaxed. During contraction, the stiffness values were 8.33 ± 0.5 m/s for the right medial gastrocnemius and 8.30 ± 0.48 m/s for the left medial gastrocnemius. Conclusions Our study showed an increase of stiffness at the level of the MTJ during muscle contraction. This result is in line with the physiologic stiffening of the MTJ to resist the high level of force applied during muscle contraction. Shear wave elastography could be a useful method to assess the characteristics of the MTJ under both physiologic and pathologic conditions.
- Published
- 2020