Age-Related Changes in Shear Wave Elastography Parameters of the Gastrocnemius Muscle in Association with Physical Performance in Healthy Adults

Gerontology ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Jing Pang ◽  
Mingxiao Wu ◽  
Xiaoshuang Liu ◽  
Kan Gao ◽  
Yuan Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Shear Wave ◽  
Physical Performance ◽  
Gastrocnemius Muscle ◽  
Early Recognition ◽  
Muscle Thickness ◽  
Shear Wave Elastography ◽  
Step Length ◽  
Muscle Stiffness ◽  
Muscle Performance ◽  
Age Related

Background/Aims: to investigate new indicators for early recognition of physical performance decline. Shear wave elastrography, a new ultrasound technique, was discussed in this study. Methods: Gastrocnemius muscle thickness and muscle stiffness were detected by traditional ultrasound and shear wave elastrography in 108 Chinese aged 20–85 years, and then analyzed with physical performance together. Results: After 70 years old, the decline rate of muscle stiffness under contractive state was significantly faster than that of muscle thickness, muscle relaxed stiffness, and physical performance indicators. The correlation analysis showed that gastrocnemius contractive stiffness was positively related with handgrip strength, step length, and fast gait speed after adjusted by age and gender. Among physical performance variants, step length had closer relationship with muscle strength than repeated chair stands. Conclusions: The detection of gastrocnemius muscle by shear wave elastography reflected the change of lower-limb muscle stiffness with aging. Muscle contractive stiffness and step length measurement supplied novel ways for muscle performance and motor function assessment.

scholarly journals Sonographic evaluation of the immediate effects of eccentric heel drop exercise on Achilles tendon and gastrocnemius muscle stiffness using shear wave elastography

PeerJ ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. e3592 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wilson K.C. Leung ◽  
KL Chu ◽  
Christopher Lai
Keyword(s):  
Achilles Tendon ◽  
Shear Wave ◽  
Gastrocnemius Muscle ◽  
Shear Wave Elastography ◽  
Achilles Tendinopathy ◽  
Muscle Stiffness ◽  
Eccentric Load ◽  
Lateral Gastrocnemius ◽  
Acute Bout ◽  
Gastrocnemius Muscles

BackgroundMechanical loading is crucial for muscle and tendon tissue remodeling. Eccentric heel drop exercise has been proven to be effective in the management of Achilles tendinopathy, yet its induced change in the mechanical property (i.e., stiffness) of the Achilles tendon (AT), medial and lateral gastrocnemius muscles (MG and LG) was unknown. Given that shear wave elastography has emerged as a powerful tool in assessing soft tissue stiffness with promising intra- and inter-operator reliability, the objective of this study was hence to characterize the stiffness of the AT, MG and LG in response to an acute bout of eccentric heel drop exercise.MethodsForty-five healthy young adults (36 males and nine females) performed 10 sets of 15-repetition heel drop exercise on their dominant leg with fully-extended knee, during which the AT and gastrocnemius muscles, but not soleus, were highly stretched. Before and immediately after the heel drop exercise, elastic moduli of the AT, MG and LG were measured by shear wave elastography.ResultsAfter the heel drop exercise, the stiffness of AT increased significantly by 41.8 + 33.5% (P < 0.001), whereas the increases in the MG and LG stiffness were found to be more drastic by 75 + 47.7% (P < 0.001) and 71.7 + 51.8% (P < 0.001), respectively. Regarding the AT, MG and LG stiffness measurements, the inter-operator reliability was 0.940, 0.987 and 0.986, and the intra-operator reliability was 0.916 to 0.978, 0.801 to 0.961 and 0.889 to 0.985, respectively.DiscussionThe gastrocnemius muscles were shown to bear larger mechanical loads than the AT during an acute bout of eccentric heel drop exercise. The findings from this pilot study shed some light on how and to what extent the AT and gastrocnemius muscles mechanically responds to an isolated set of heel drop exercise. Taken together, appropriate eccentric load might potentially benefit mechanical adaptations of the AT and gastrocnemius muscles in the rehabilitation of patients with Achilles tendinopathy.

scholarly journals Changes in Muscle Hardness from Resting to Mid-Range Lengthened Positions Detected by Shear Wave Elastography (SWE) with a Novel Protocol of Ultrasound Probe Placement

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 452
Author(s):  
Long-Jun Ren ◽  
Connie Lok-Kan Cheng ◽  
Christina Zong-Hao Ma ◽  
Yong-Ping Zheng
Keyword(s):  
Shear Wave ◽  
Intraclass Correlation ◽  
Shear Wave Elastography ◽  
Rectus Femoris ◽  
Healthy Adults ◽  
Physiological Status ◽  
Ultrasound Probe ◽  
Muscle Hardness ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Probe Placement

Muscle hardness and its relationship with different muscle lengths/positions are important for understanding its underlying physiological status, and yet remained unclear. This study aimed to detect the local muscle hardness at different muscle lengths and identify the influence of muscle position on muscle hardness in healthy adults. A total of 26 healthy adults participated in this study. Shear wave elastography (SWE) was used to measure the muscle hardness of the Rectus Femoris (RF), Tibialis Anterior (TA) and Gastrocnemius Medialis (GM). Each muscle was tested at both resting (RST) and mid-range lengthened (MRL) positions. A novel ultrasound probe placing method was introduced, applied, and evaluated in this study. Moderate to excellent intra-/inter-rater reliability (Intraclass Correlation Coefficient, ICC ≥ 0.70) was found for muscle hardness measurements. The muscle hardness significantly increased from the RST to MRL position for all three muscles (p < 0.001). This study found that the muscle hardness increased at its mid-range lengthened position from the resting position. The mid-range lengthened muscle position of TA and GM could also be sensitive enough to reflect the age-related changes in local muscle hardness. This study also highlights the importance of placing the assessed extremities in an appropriate and consistent position when assessing muscle qualities by ultrasonics in clinical practice.

Effect of Rest Duration Between Static Stretching on Passive Stiffness of Medial Gastrocnemius Muscle In Vivo

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 578-582
Author(s):  
Masatoshi Nakamura ◽  
Shigeru Sato ◽  
Ryosuke Kiyono ◽  
Nobushige Takahashi ◽  
Tomoichi Yoshida
Keyword(s):  
Elastic Modulus ◽  
Shear Wave ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Shear Wave Elastography ◽  
Muscle Stiffness ◽  
Medial Gastrocnemius ◽  
Static Stretching ◽  
Shear Elastic Modulus ◽  
Before And After

Context: In clinical and sports settings, static stretching (SS) is usually performed to increase range of motion (ROM) and decrease passive muscle stiffness. Recently, the shear elastic modulus was measured by ultrasonic shear wave elastography as an index of muscle stiffness. Previous studies reported that the shear elastic modulus measured by ultrasound shear wave elastography decreased after SS, and the effects of SS on shear elastic modulus were likely affected by rest duration between sets of SS. Objective: To investigate the acute effects of SS with different rest durations on ROM and shear elastic modulus of gastrocnemius and to clarify whether the rest duration between sets of SS decreases the shear elastic modulus. Design: A randomized, repeated-measures experimental design. Setting: University laboratory. Participants: Sixteen healthy males volunteered to participate in the study (age 21.3 [0.8] y; height 171.8 [5.1] cm; weight 63.1 [4.5] kg). Main Outcome Measures: Each participant underwent 3 different rest interval durations during SS (ie, long rest duration: 90 s; normal rest duration: 30 s; and short rest duration: 10 s). This SS technique was repeated 10 times, thus lasting a total of 300 seconds with different rest durations in each protocol. The dorsiflexion ROM and shear elastic modulus were measured before and after SS. Results: Our results revealed that dorsiflexion ROM and shear elastic modulus were changed after 300-second SS; however, no effects of the rest duration between sets of SS were observed. Conclusions: In terms of decreasing the shear elastic modulus, clinicians and coaches should not focus on the rest duration when SS intervention is performed.

The utility of shear wave elastography in the evaluation of muscle stiffness in patients with cerebral palsy after botulinum toxin A injection

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 609-615
Author(s):  
Nurullah Dağ ◽  
Mahi Nur Cerit ◽  
Halit Nahit Şendur ◽  
Murat Zinnuroğlu ◽  
Bilge Nur Muşmal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cerebral Palsy ◽  
Botulinum Toxin ◽  
Shear Wave ◽  
Botulinum Toxin A ◽  
Shear Wave Elastography ◽  
Muscle Stiffness ◽  
Toxin A

scholarly journals Muscle stiffness in rheumatoid arthritis is not altered or associated with muscle weakness: A shear wave elastography study

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 617-625 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdulrahman M. Alfuraih ◽  
Ai Lyn Tan ◽  
Philip O’Connor ◽  
Paul Emery ◽  
Richard J. Wakefield
Keyword(s):  
Rheumatoid Arthritis ◽  
Shear Wave ◽  
Muscle Weakness ◽  
Shear Wave Elastography ◽  
Muscle Stiffness

Ultrasound shear wave elastography in assessment of muscle stiffness in patients with Parkinson's disease: a primary observation

2016 ◽  
Vol 40 (6) ◽  
pp. 1075-1080 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li-juan Du ◽  
Wen He ◽  
Ling-gang Cheng ◽  
Shuo Li ◽  
Yue-song Pan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Shear Wave ◽  
Shear Wave Elastography ◽  
Muscle Stiffness
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