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Shear-wave elastography for assessment of trapezius muscle stiffness: Reliability and association with low-level muscle activity
- Source :
- PLoS ONE, PLoS ONE, Vol 15, Iss 6, p e0234359 (2020)
- Publication Year :
- 2020
- Publisher :
- Zenodo, 2020.
-
Abstract
- PurposeShear-wave elastography has been recognized a useful tool for quantifying muscle stiffness, commonly reported as shear modulus, however the reports on reliability are often limited to test-retest correlations. In this study, we explored the reliability of shear-wave elastography for assessment of the trapezius muscle stiffness and its relationship with low-level muscle activity.MethodsTwenty participants were included in a two-session experiment. Measurements of shear modulus and muscle activity were performed at rest and during low-level activity, induced by shoulder abduction without additional external resistance.ResultsGood to excellent intra-session repeatability (ICC > 0.80) and moderate inter-rater and inter-session reproducibility (ICC = 0.66-0.74) were observed. Typical errors were acceptable (7.6% of the mean value) only for intra-session measurements in resting conditions, but not acceptable for all conditions with low-level muscle activity (10.2-16.6% of the mean value). Inverse relationships between shear modulus and muscle activity at 40° and 60° of shoulder abduction (r = -0.53 and -0.57) were observed on a group level. We also found higher shear modulus in males compared to females, for the parallel probe position compared to the perpendicular position (in relation to muscle fiber orientation), and for the dominant side of the body compared to the non-dominant side.ConclusionsThis study showed an inverse relationship between muscle activity in low-level range and shear modulus on a group level, suggesting inherent passive stiffness could account for a larger portion of the variance (compared to muscle activity) in shear modulus when the muscle activity is low. Our results imply that shear-wave elastography can be used in research exploring muscle stiffness, however, caution is needed since only intra-session examination in resting conditions showed acceptable within-participant typical errors. The secondary analyses of the study showed higher shear modulus for males, for the non-dominant side of the body and for the parallel orientation of the ultrasound probe.
- Subjects :
- Male
Research Validity
Electromyography
Stiffness
Diagnostic Radiology
0302 clinical medicine
Animal Cells
Ultrasound Imaging
Medicine and Health Sciences
Musculoskeletal System
Ultrasonography
Multidisciplinary
medicine.diagnostic_test
Muscles
Radiology and Imaging
Muscle Analysis
Repeatability
Research Assessment
Healthy Volunteers
Bioassays and Physiological Analysis
Physical Sciences
Medicine
Elasticity Imaging Techniques
Female
Elastography
Anatomy
Cellular Types
medicine.symptom
Trapezius muscle
Muscle Electrophysiology
Research Article
Muscle contraction
Adult
Shoulder
Materials science
Imaging Techniques
Science
Movement
Materials Science
Material Properties
Research and Analysis Methods
Muscle Fibers
Shear modulus
03 medical and health sciences
Diagnostic Medicine
Elastic Modulus
medicine
Humans
Mechanical Properties
Muscle Strength
Muscle, Skeletal
Electrophysiological Techniques
Reproducibility of Results
Biology and Life Sciences
Cell Biology
030229 sport sciences
Muscle stiffness
Shoulders
Skeletal Muscles
Superficial Back Muscles
030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Biomedical engineering
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- PLoS ONE, PLoS ONE, Vol 15, Iss 6, p e0234359 (2020)
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....5e4e8d206f712130fbca7ad14e828f67