Spatial-frequency Analysis of the Anatomical Differences in Hamstring Muscles

Crawford, Scott K.; Lee, Kenneth S.; Bashford, Gregory R.; Heiderscheit, Bryan C.

doi:10.1177/0161734621990707

Cited by 9 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…When it comes to assessing the organization of muscle tissue, SFA has recently proven to be a valuable tool ( 2 ). It can effectively reveal differences in muscle structure resulting from factors like training interventions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This tissue architecture also holds potential for quantifying adaptations or changes in human skeletal muscles resulting from training, injury, or pathology. Recently, not only the muscle architecture but also the muscle tissue organization ( 2 , 3 ) has been quantified for acute and chronic adaptations in muscles indicating the overall tissue integrity at the micromorphological level. To analyze muscle tissue organization, spatial frequency analysis (SFA) can be conducted, following the methodology outlined by Bashford et al ( 4 , 5 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Reproducibility of freehand vs. foam cast as well as the intrarater reliability of foam cast ultrasound scans assessing the muscle architecture and tissue organization of the gastrocnemius medialis and vastus lateralis muscles

Lesinski,

Bashford,

Markov

et al. 2024

Front. Sports Act. Living

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BackgroundThis study compares the reproducibility of freehand (FH) vs. foam cast (FC) scans and investigates the intrarater reliability of the ultrasound FC muscle architecture and tissue organization measurements of the gastrocnemius medialis (GM) and vastus lateralis (VL) muscles with fixed and repositioning FC scans.MethodsThirteen young adults (22 ± 3 years) underwent repeated sagittal B-mode ultrasound measurements of GM and VL. FH, FC, and repositioned FC scans were conducted. Muscle architecture measurements included muscle thickness (MT), pennation angle (PA), and fascicle length (FL). Spatial frequency analysis assessed muscle tissue organization.ResultsMT decreased from 2.1 to 1.8 cm in GM and from 2.4 to 2.2 cm in VL with the FC compared with the FH. Reproducibility between the FH and the FC showed poor to good intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) for MT (0.46–0.77) and PA (0.09–0.86) as well as poor to moderate ICCs for FL (0.41), with very low to moderate test–retest variability (TRV) (4%–18%). Tissue organization indicated low to good ICCs (0.21–0.80) with low to moderate TRV (4%–19.5%). The re-scanning results of fixed FC indicated excellent ICCs for MT (0.95–0.996), good for PA (0.77–0.90), and moderate for FL (0.73–0.76), with low TRV (5%–10%) for both muscles. Tissue organization displayed moderate to good ICCs (0.61–0.87) with very low to low TRV (4%–9%). For repositioned FC scans in GM and VL, MT showed good to excellent ICCs (0.86–0.98) with very low to low TRV (2%–8%). PA and FL demonstrated moderate to good ICCs (0.57–0.75), with very low to moderate TRV (2%–13%). Tissue organization revealed ICCs ranging from poor to good (0.13–0.87) for both muscles, with low to moderate TRV (5%–18%).ConclusionThe FC systematically reduced MT by 2–3 mm. Furthermore, reproducibility revealed low ICCs and high data variability for several muscle architecture and tissue organization parameters. Thus, switching methods within a single study is not recommended. Nevertheless, FC ultrasound scans demonstrated excellent intrarater reliability for assessing MT. In the case of fixed FC scans particularly, moderate to excellent ICCs were observed for all muscle architecture and tissue organization parameters, accompanied by very low to low variability. Therefore, FC scans are recommended for investigating acute effects on muscle architecture and tissue organization when the FC remains on the leg throughout the period of measurements.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reproducibility of freehand vs. foam cast as well as the intrarater reliability of foam cast ultrasound scans assessing the muscle architecture and tissue organization of the gastrocnemius medialis and vastus lateralis muscles

Lesinski,

Bashford,

Markov

et al. 2024

Front. Sports Act. Living

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show abstract

“…This method evaluates the anisotropic two-dimensional B-mode speckle pattern of a tissue region in the spatial frequency domain. The spectral parameters are related to information about the underlying tissue organization [ 22 ]. Ultrasound B-mode images can also be used to estimate the pennation angle, muscle thickness and length, and fascicle angle to characterize anatomy and architecture [ 23 , 24 ].…”

Section: B-mode Qualitative and Quantitative Techniquesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The inter-class correlation coefficients showed high intra- and inter-rater reliability and good to moderate test-retest reliability [ 42 ]. An additional study showed SFA could detect architectural differences in multiple hamstring muscles with significant differences between different regions of healthy muscle structure [ 22 ]. A follow-up study used SFA to analyze injured hamstrings and provided a quantitative assessment of fascicular disruption and the presence of edema in hamstring injury.…”

Section: B-mode Qualitative and Quantitative Techniquesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Skeletal Muscle Assessment Using Quantitative Ultrasound: A Narrative Review

Ashir

Jerban

Barrère

et al. 2023

Sensors

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Ultrasound (US) is an important imaging tool for skeletal muscle analysis. The advantages of US include point-of-care access, real-time imaging, cost-effectiveness, and absence of ionizing radiation. However, US can be highly dependent on the operator and/or US system, and a portion of the potentially useful information carried by raw sonographic data is discarded in image formation for routine qualitative US. Quantitative ultrasound (QUS) methods provide analysis of the raw or post-processed data, revealing additional information about normal tissue structure and disease status. There are four QUS categories that can be used on muscle and are important to review. First, quantitative data derived from B-mode images can help determine the macrostructural anatomy and microstructural morphology of muscle tissues. Second, US elastography can provide information about muscle elasticity or stiffness through strain elastography or shear wave elastography (SWE). Strain elastography measures the induced tissue strain caused either by internal or external compression by tracking tissue displacement with detectable speckle in B-mode images of the examined tissue. SWE measures the speed of induced shear waves traveling through the tissue to estimate the tissue elasticity. These shear waves may be produced using external mechanical vibrations or internal “push pulse” ultrasound stimuli. Third, raw radiofrequency signal analyses provide estimates of fundamental tissue parameters, such as the speed of sound, attenuation coefficient, and backscatter coefficient, which correspond to information about muscle tissue microstructure and composition. Lastly, envelope statistical analyses apply various probability distributions to estimate the number density of scatterers and quantify coherent to incoherent signals, thus providing information about microstructural properties of muscle tissue. This review will examine these QUS techniques, published results on QUS evaluation of skeletal muscles, and the strengths and limitations of QUS in skeletal muscle analysis.

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“…Recently, spatial frequency analysis (SFA) of ultrasound images has been also used to assess micromorphological characteristics such as tissue density and organization of tendons resulting from pathological or training related adaptations ( 11 , 12 ). Due to similar hierarchical structure of tendon and muscle tissue, a recent investigation successfully adapted and extended SFA for the application in skeletal muscle ( 13 , 14 ). In a first examination Crawford et al ( 13 ) accomplished a characterization of muscle injury and recovery due to SFA parameters by providing quantitative information on both fascicular disruption and edema presence in acute hamstring strain injury.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reliability of assessing skeletal muscle architecture and tissue organization of the gastrocnemius medialis and vastus lateralis muscle using ultrasound and spatial frequency analysis

Lesinski,

Bashford,

Markov

et al. 2024

Front. Sports Act. Living

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IntroductionThe purpose of this study was to investigate inter- and intra-rater reliability as well as the inter-rater interpretation error of ultrasound measurements assessing skeletal muscle architecture and tissue organization of the gastrocnemius medialis (GM) and vastus lateralis (VL) muscle.MethodsThe GM and VL of 13 healthy adults (22 ± 3 years) were examined thrice with sagittal B-mode ultrasound: intraday test-retest examination by one investigator (intra-rater) and separate examinations by two investigators (inter-rater). Additionally, images from one investigator were analysed by two interpretators (interpretation error). Muscle architecture was assessed by muscle thickness [MT], fascicle length [FL], as well as superior and inferior pennation angle [PA]. Muscle tissue organization was determined by spatial frequency analysis (SFA: peak spatial frequency radius, peak −6 dB width, PSFR/P6, normalized peak value of amplitude spectrum [Amax], power within peak [PWP], peak power percent). Reliability of ultrasound examination and image interpretation are presented as intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), test-retest variability, standard error of measurement as well as bias and limits of agreement.ResultsGM and VL demonstrated excellent ICCs for inter- and intra-rater reliability, along with excellent ICCs for interpretation error of MT (0.91–0.99), showing minimal variability (<5%) and SEM% (<5%). Systematic bias for MT was less than 1 mm. For PA and FL poor to good ICCs for inter- and intra-rater reliability were revealed (0.41–0.90), with moderate variability (<12%), low SEM% (<10%) and systematic bias between 0.1–1.4°. Tissue organization analysis indicated moderate to good ICCs for inter- and intra-rater reliability. Notably, Amax and PWP consistently held the highest ICC values (0.77–0.87) across all analyses but with higher variability (<24%) and SEM% (<18%), compared to lower variability (<9%) and SEM% (<8%) in other tissue organization parameters. Interpretation error of all muscle tissue organization parameters showed excellent ICCs (0.96–0.999) with very low variability (≤1%) and SEM% (<2%), except Amax & PWP (TRV%: <6%; SEM%: <7%).ConclusionOur findings demonstrated excellent inter- and intra-rater reliability for MT. However, agreement for PA, FL, and SFA parameters was not as strong. Additionally, MT and all SFA parameters exhibited excellent agreement for inter-rater interpretation error. Therefore, the SFA seems to offer the possibility of objectively and reliably evaluating ultrasound images.

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Spatial-frequency Analysis of the Anatomical Differences in Hamstring Muscles

Cited by 9 publications

References 49 publications

Reproducibility of freehand vs. foam cast as well as the intrarater reliability of foam cast ultrasound scans assessing the muscle architecture and tissue organization of the gastrocnemius medialis and vastus lateralis muscles

Reproducibility of freehand vs. foam cast as well as the intrarater reliability of foam cast ultrasound scans assessing the muscle architecture and tissue organization of the gastrocnemius medialis and vastus lateralis muscles

Skeletal Muscle Assessment Using Quantitative Ultrasound: A Narrative Review

Reliability of assessing skeletal muscle architecture and tissue organization of the gastrocnemius medialis and vastus lateralis muscle using ultrasound and spatial frequency analysis

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