Background: Ultrasound (US) imaging is used by physical therapists for diagnosis and assessment of musculoskeletal injury and follow-up.
Purpose: The aim was to identify long-term effects of graft harvesting on hamstrings muscle mass among athletes who had undergone anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR).
Methods: Twenty-eight participants (ages 18-55) were recruited: 18 with history of ACLR using semitendinosus (ST) autograft and 10 healthy controls. Images of the cross-sectional area (CSA) of ST and biceps femoris (BF) were captured at 30% and 70% of the distance from the ischial tuberosity to the popliteal crease. A mixed model ANOVA was used to identify inter-limb differences in the CSA of ST and BF at each location, for each group.
Results: Inter-limb differences were found for the CSA of ST but not BF across both locations for the ACLR group, not controls (p < .001). Within the ACLR group, ST atrophy of the injured limb was relatively greater at the distal vs. proximal location (p < .001).
Conclusion: US imaging identified selective atrophy of ST on the injured side with no compensatory hypertrophy of BF. Specific rehabilitation may influence muscle mass of medial vs. lateral hamstrings muscle groups after ACLR using a ST graft, and monitored with US imaging.
Keywords: Muscle morphology; atrophy; biceps femoris; semitendinosus.