title: Applicability of ultrasonography for evaluating trunk muscle size: a pilot study.
abstract: [Purpose] Ultrasonography (US) is widely applied to measure the muscle size in the limbs, as it has relatively high portability and is associated with low costs compared with large clinical devices such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). However, the applicability of US for evaluating trunk muscle size is poorly understood. This study aimed to examine whether US-measured muscle thickness (MT) in the trunk abdominal and back muscles correlated with MT and muscle cross-sectional area (MCSA) measured by MRI. [Subjects and Methods] Twenty-four healthy young males participated in this study. The MT and MCSA in the subjects were measured by US and MRI in a total of 10 sites, including the bilateral sides of the rectus abdominis (upper, central, and lower parts), abdominal wall, and multifidus lumborum. [Results] The interclass correlation coefficients of US-measured MT on the total 10 sites showed excellent values (n=12, 0.919 to 0.970). The US-measured MT significantly correlated with the MRI-measured MT (r=0.753 to 0.963) and MCSA (r=0.634 to 0.821). [Conclusion] US-measured MT could represent a surrogate for muscle size measured by MRI. The application of US for evaluating trunk muscle size may be a useful tool in the clinical setting.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Sport and Health Science, Ritsumeikan University, Japan.
authors.forename: Michio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wachi
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Sport and Health Science, Ritsumeikan University, Japan; Kanazawa Orthopaedic & Sports Medicine Clinic, Japan.
authors.forename: Tadashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Suga
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Socio-Environmental Studies, Fukuoka Institute of Technology, Japan.
authors.forename: Takatoshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Higuchi
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Sport and Health Science, Ritsumeikan University, Japan.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Misaki
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Sport and Health Science, Ritsumeikan University, Japan.
authors.forename: Ryo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tsuchikane
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Sport and Health Science, Ritsumeikan University, Japan.
authors.forename: Daichi
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Sport and Health Science, Ritsumeikan University, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuto
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Miyake
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Sport and Health Science, Ritsumeikan University, Japan.
authors.forename: Tadao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Isaka
keywords: Magnetic resonance imaging; Muscle cross-sectional area; Muscle thickness