Reliability of ultrasound assessment of the rectus femoris muscle thickness: intra-rater, inter-rater, and inter-day analysis accounting for age and sex

Abstract Background The rectus femoris muscle plays an important role in maintaining lower limb stability and biomechanical control during basic physical activities. Both reduced quadriceps strength and decreased muscle thickness of the rectus femoris, as measured by ultrasound, are associated with...

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Main Authors: Martin Bjørn Stausholm, Katielle Rodrigues da Silva, Pedro Augusto Inácio, Alberto Souza de Sá Filho, Pedro Sardinha Leonardo Lopes-Martins, Jan Magnus Bjordal, Patrícia Sardinha Leonardo, Rodrigo Alvaro B. Lopes-Martins
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2024-11-01
Series:BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12891-024-08033-5
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author Martin Bjørn Stausholm
Katielle Rodrigues da Silva
Pedro Augusto Inácio
Alberto Souza de Sá Filho
Pedro Sardinha Leonardo Lopes-Martins
Jan Magnus Bjordal
Patrícia Sardinha Leonardo
Rodrigo Alvaro B. Lopes-Martins
author_facet Martin Bjørn Stausholm
Katielle Rodrigues da Silva
Pedro Augusto Inácio
Alberto Souza de Sá Filho
Pedro Sardinha Leonardo Lopes-Martins
Jan Magnus Bjordal
Patrícia Sardinha Leonardo
Rodrigo Alvaro B. Lopes-Martins
author_sort Martin Bjørn Stausholm
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background The rectus femoris muscle plays an important role in maintaining lower limb stability and biomechanical control during basic physical activities. Both reduced quadriceps strength and decreased muscle thickness of the rectus femoris, as measured by ultrasound, are associated with an increased risk of falls in older adults. We estimated the relative and absolute intra-rater, inter-rater, and inter-day reliability of the procedure. Methods A female biologist and a male physical educator, both holding a master’s degree in human movement and rehabilitation, captured ultrasound images of the right rectus femoris muscle in 106 healthy participants (58 females and 48 males), aged 18 to 73 years. Each rater captured three images per participant during each visit, with two visits 7 to 10 days apart. A third person subsequently measured the muscle thickness. We calculated the Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICC) using a two-way random model and determined the 95% minimal detectable difference (MDD). Results The mean muscle thickness was 2.12 cm. The reliability based on single measurements was as follows: the intra-rater ICC for raters A and B was 0.998 at both visits (MDDs: 0.074–0.082 cm). The inter-rater ICC was 0.976 at visit 1 and 0.977 at visit 2 (MDDs: 0.269–0.270 cm). The inter-day ICC was 0.973 for rater A and 0.972 for rater B (MDDs: 0.286–0.291 cm). Sensitivity analyses accounting for age, sex, and the use of mean measurements produced similar results. The results were homoscedastic. Conclusions The rectus femoris muscle thickness was measured with good reliability using ultrasonography across all the settings.
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spelling doaj-art-dfb4fbd92d6c4e25bc83904aca6829ba2024-11-17T12:05:54ZengBMCBMC Musculoskeletal Disorders1471-24742024-11-0125111110.1186/s12891-024-08033-5Reliability of ultrasound assessment of the rectus femoris muscle thickness: intra-rater, inter-rater, and inter-day analysis accounting for age and sexMartin Bjørn Stausholm0Katielle Rodrigues da Silva1Pedro Augusto Inácio2Alberto Souza de Sá Filho3Pedro Sardinha Leonardo Lopes-Martins4Jan Magnus Bjordal5Patrícia Sardinha Leonardo6Rodrigo Alvaro B. Lopes-Martins7Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, University of BergenLaboratory of Biophotonics and Experimental Therapeutics, Universidade Evangélica de GoiásIntegrated Laboratory of Neurosciences and Physical Conditioning, Universidade Evangélica de GoiásIntegrated Laboratory of Neurosciences and Physical Conditioning, Universidade Evangélica de GoiásIntegrated Laboratory of Neurosciences and Physical Conditioning, Universidade Evangélica de GoiásDepartment of Global Public Health and Primary Care, University of BergenLaboratório de Tecnologias em Saúde, Universidade Evangélica de GoiásLaboratory of Biophotonics and Experimental Therapeutics, Universidade Evangélica de GoiásAbstract Background The rectus femoris muscle plays an important role in maintaining lower limb stability and biomechanical control during basic physical activities. Both reduced quadriceps strength and decreased muscle thickness of the rectus femoris, as measured by ultrasound, are associated with an increased risk of falls in older adults. We estimated the relative and absolute intra-rater, inter-rater, and inter-day reliability of the procedure. Methods A female biologist and a male physical educator, both holding a master’s degree in human movement and rehabilitation, captured ultrasound images of the right rectus femoris muscle in 106 healthy participants (58 females and 48 males), aged 18 to 73 years. Each rater captured three images per participant during each visit, with two visits 7 to 10 days apart. A third person subsequently measured the muscle thickness. We calculated the Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICC) using a two-way random model and determined the 95% minimal detectable difference (MDD). Results The mean muscle thickness was 2.12 cm. The reliability based on single measurements was as follows: the intra-rater ICC for raters A and B was 0.998 at both visits (MDDs: 0.074–0.082 cm). The inter-rater ICC was 0.976 at visit 1 and 0.977 at visit 2 (MDDs: 0.269–0.270 cm). The inter-day ICC was 0.973 for rater A and 0.972 for rater B (MDDs: 0.286–0.291 cm). Sensitivity analyses accounting for age, sex, and the use of mean measurements produced similar results. The results were homoscedastic. Conclusions The rectus femoris muscle thickness was measured with good reliability using ultrasonography across all the settings.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12891-024-08033-5Muscle thicknessUltrasonographyObserver variationReliability
spellingShingle Martin Bjørn Stausholm
Katielle Rodrigues da Silva
Pedro Augusto Inácio
Alberto Souza de Sá Filho
Pedro Sardinha Leonardo Lopes-Martins
Jan Magnus Bjordal
Patrícia Sardinha Leonardo
Rodrigo Alvaro B. Lopes-Martins
Reliability of ultrasound assessment of the rectus femoris muscle thickness: intra-rater, inter-rater, and inter-day analysis accounting for age and sex
BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders
Muscle thickness
Ultrasonography
Observer variation
Reliability
title Reliability of ultrasound assessment of the rectus femoris muscle thickness: intra-rater, inter-rater, and inter-day analysis accounting for age and sex
title_full Reliability of ultrasound assessment of the rectus femoris muscle thickness: intra-rater, inter-rater, and inter-day analysis accounting for age and sex
title_fullStr Reliability of ultrasound assessment of the rectus femoris muscle thickness: intra-rater, inter-rater, and inter-day analysis accounting for age and sex
title_full_unstemmed Reliability of ultrasound assessment of the rectus femoris muscle thickness: intra-rater, inter-rater, and inter-day analysis accounting for age and sex
title_short Reliability of ultrasound assessment of the rectus femoris muscle thickness: intra-rater, inter-rater, and inter-day analysis accounting for age and sex
title_sort reliability of ultrasound assessment of the rectus femoris muscle thickness intra rater inter rater and inter day analysis accounting for age and sex
topic Muscle thickness
Ultrasonography
Observer variation
Reliability
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12891-024-08033-5
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