Keywords:
Musculoskeletal soft tissue, Ultrasound physics, Musculoskeletal system, Ultrasound, Elastography, Experimental investigations, Tissue characterisation
Authors:
R. A. M. Santos1, P. Armada-da-Silva2; 1Coimbra/PT, 2Lisbon/PT
DOI:
10.1594/ecr2018/C-2378
Aims and objectives
Ultrasound (US) has an important role in musculoskeletal (MSK) evaluation,
allowing the study of muscle morphology and function (1).
US elastography can also offer semi-quantitative and/or quantitative assessment of tissue stiffness providing relevant information about adaptations of muscle mechanical properties (1,2).
Supersonic Shear Image (SSI) is an US elastography method that offers a direct quantitative measure of tissue stiffness based on the velocity of shear waves (2).
In recent years,
this technique has become very popular for the study of muscle mechanics in vivo and in human participants (3).
The potential of this technique is enormous and has enabled researchers in many fields,
including biomechanics and muscle physiology to probe the function of complex multiarticular muscle groups in passive and active conditions (2-4).
The aim of this study is to assess changes in Vastus Lateralis’s shear modulus with knee position and after a session of maximal isometric and isokinetic Concentric and Eccentric contraction and to analyse the relationship between Vastus Lateralis’s shear elasticity and submaximal knee extension torque with SSI.