Relationships between muscle size and hardness of the medial gastrocnemius at different ankle joint angles in young men.
BACKGROUND
Measurement of muscle hardness is important for objective evaluation of the muscle condition. Muscle hardness may be related to muscle size, but this relationship has not yet been examined.


OBJECTIVE
To examine the relationship between the size and hardness of the medial gastrocnemius muscle (MG) at different ankle joint angles.


METHODS
Twelve young male subjects comprised the present study. Muscle thickness of the right MG (MT(MG)) was measured by ultrasonography as an index of muscle size. The MT(MG) was determined at 30% of the lower leg length from the popliteal crease to the lateral malleolus. At the same site, muscle hardness of the right MG (MH(MG)) was measured with ultrasound real-time tissue elastography. Both measurements were taken while each subject was instructed to lie in a prone position on a test bench. The right ankle was secured to a handmade apparatus by a non-elastic belt, with the hip and knee joints fully extended and the ankle positioned at +30°, 0° and -20° (0°: neutral position, positive values indicating plantar flexion).


RESULTS
There were no significant differences in the MT(MG) among the ankle joint angles whereas the MH(MG) significantly increased as the ankle was moved from plantar flexion to dorsiflexion. As a result, there was a difference in the MT(MG)-MH(MG) relationship between the angles. The MT(MG) significantly correlated with the MH(MG) only at +30° (r = 0.635, P < 0.05) where passive torque around the ankle has been shown to be near zero in previous studies.


CONCLUSIONS
The hardness of the relaxed MG with no passive tension appears to depend on its size.
Department of Sports Sciences, Japan Institute of Sports Sciences, Tokyo, Japan. carp_crespo_0522@ruri.waseda.jp
Ryota
R
Akagi
Kentaro
K
Chino
Michiko
M
Dohi
Hideyuki
H
Takahashi
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000843:Ankle Joint / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D001837:Body Weights and Measures / Q000379:methods*; D054459:Elasticity Imaging Techniques / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009119:Muscle Contraction; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D016684:Prone Position; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular