Does Rest Time before Ultrasonography Imaging Affect Quadriceps Femoris Muscle Thickness, Cross-Sectional Area and Echo Intensity Measurements?

Pedro Lopez; Matheus Daros Pinto; Ronei Silveira Pinto

doi:10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2018.10.010

Does Rest Time before Ultrasonography Imaging Affect Quadriceps Femoris Muscle Thickness, Cross-Sectional Area and Echo Intensity Measurements?

Ultrasound Med Biol. 2019 Feb;45(2):612-616. doi: 10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2018.10.010. Epub 2018 Nov 22.

Authors

Pedro Lopez¹, Matheus Daros Pinto², Ronei Silveira Pinto³

Affiliations

¹ Exercise Research Laboratory, Physical Education, Physiotherapy and Dance School, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil. Electronic address: lopez.pedro1291@gmail.com.
² Centre for Exercise and Sport Science Research (CESSR), School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Australia.
³ Exercise Research Laboratory, Physical Education, Physiotherapy and Dance School, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.

PMID: 30471782
DOI: 10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2018.10.010

Abstract

In the work described here, our aim was to determine, in an elderly population, changes in muscle thickness (MT), cross-sectional area (CSA) and echo intensity (EI) of the quadriceps muscles at four time points (0, 5, 10 and 15 min; i.e., T0, T5, T10 and T15, respectively) after changing from a standing to supine position. Twenty-one elderly participants (14 men: 68.1 ± 4.6 y; 8 women: 66.8 ± 4.1 y) were evaluated at four time points. Rectus femoris CSA (RF_CSA), MT and EI of the quadriceps femoris (QF) muscles were assessed. EI significantly increased from T0 to T5, T10 and T15 (p < 0.001), whereas no differences were observed between T5 and T15 in the rectus femoris (RF_EI), vastus intermedius (VI_EI) and quadriceps femoris (QF_EI). No differences were observed between any time points in the RF_CSA and MT of QF muscles. In summary, these results suggest that periods >5 min are not necessary to obtain consistent MT and EI measurements of quadriceps femoris muscles in the elderly population.

Keywords: Cross-sectional area; Echo intensity; Elderly; Muscle thickness; Ultrasound.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Female
Humans
Male
Quadriceps Muscle / anatomy & histology*
Quadriceps Muscle / diagnostic imaging
Rest
Standing Position
Supine Position / physiology
Time
Ultrasonography / methods*