Continuous wearing of compression garments during the inflammation phase of DOMS may play an important role in regulating muscle stiffness; however, compression garments have no significant effects on intramuscular perfusion or other common clinical assessments. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2018;48(11):887-894. Epub12 Jun 2018. doi:10.2519/jospt.2018.8038.

ARFI elastography seems to be an additional sensitive diagnostic modality in the diagnostic workup of delayed onset muscle soreness. Intramuscular shear wave velocities could represent an additional imaging marker for the assessment and monitoring of ultrastructural muscle injuries and therefore be helpful for individual training composition in elite sports.

Our results indicate that performing CEUS seems to be a sensitive additional diagnostic modality in the early assessment of muscle injuries. Our results highlight the advantages of CEUS in the imaging of low-grade lesions when compared with conventional ultrasound, as this was the more accurate modality for identifying intramuscular edema.

The purpose of this study was to analyse intramuscular perfusion response in ultrastructural muscle lesions, by applying contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) to a delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) model. Results of this analysis were compared to high-resolution 3 Tesla MRI T2-weighted sequences. 14 healthy participants were recruited. Average perfusion parameters, represented as Peak enhancement (contrast agent inflow) and wash-in area under curve (WiAUC) of the gastrocnemius (GM) and soleus muscle (SM) were assessed before (baseline) and 60 h after inducing DOMS by eccentric exercise. Additionally, conventional ultrasound, high-resolution 3T MRI, creatine kinase level, range of motion (ROM) of the ankle joint, calf circumference and muscle soreness data were collected. Perfusion quantification revealed a statistically significant increase of intramuscular perfusion, corresponding to an increase in peak enhancement of 129.6% (p=0.0031) and in WiAUC of 115.2% (p=0.0107) in the gastrocnemius muscle at post-intervention. At follow-up, the MRI investigations showed intramuscular oedema for GM in all participants corresponding to a significant rise in T2 signal intensity (p=0.001) and in T2 time value (p=0.005). CEUS seems to be able to detect intramuscular perfusion changes and therefore may contribute to gaining deeper insight into the histopathology, inflammatory reactions and regeneration processes of ultrastructural muscle lesions.

The authors are able to demonstrate significant changes in intramuscular tissue perfusion in the center of the structural lesion as well as in the adjacent tissue. Quantifiable contrast-enhanced ultrasound seems to be able to gather relevant data for the assessment and monitoring of muscle injuries and could be established as a valuable tool for further studies focusing on healing processes or therapeutic interventions.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract