Keywords:
Extremities, Musculoskeletal soft tissue, Ultrasound physics, Ultrasound, Diagnostic procedure, Tissue characterisation, Geriatrics
Authors:
M.-L. Metzger, G. Freystätter, K. Martini, T. Frauenfelder, O. Göksel, S. Sanabria, M. Rominger; Zurich/CH
DOI:
10.1594/ecr2018/C-1211
Methods and materials
The calf muscles of 10 healthy,
young,
and female volunteers (mean age 29 years) as well as 10 elderly females (mean age 82 years) were prospectively examined with a standard ultrasound machine. (Table 1) A flat Plexiglas-reflector was used as timing reference for SoS (m/s) and ΔSoS (variation of SoS,
m/s) on the opposite side of the probe with the calf in between. (Fig.
1 and 2) SoS,
ΔSoS,
handgrip strength (kPA),
5-point comfort score (one = comfortable to five = never again) and Tegner activity scores were assessed.
Table 1 Participant data
|
Young Females
|
Elderly Females
|
Age (yrs.)*
|
28.9 (2.8)
|
82.7(7)
|
BMI *
|
19.6 (1.4)
|
23.9(3.3)
|
Tegner activity score*
|
4.3 (1)
|
0.8 (0.9)
|
Hand grip strength right (kPA)*
|
79.5 (8.3)
|
34.3(12.3)
|
Hand grip strength left (kPA) *
|
83.8(12.4)
|
43.0 (14.6)
|
Hang grip mean right +left (kPA)*
|
83.8 (11.1)
|
40.8 (15.3)
|
*Significant differences between young and elderly females.
In parenthesis standard deviation.