Advanced Ultrasound in Diagnosis and Therapy (Dec 2023)

Ultrasonographic Identification of Muscle Atrophy in Hamstring Muscles after Anterior Cruciate Ligament Repair among Soccer Players: A Case-control Study

  • Sebastián Eustaquio Martín Pérez, MSc, Raúl Hernández García, PT, Alberto Brito Lorenzo, PT, Carlos Daniel Sabater Cruz, PT, Mario Herrera Pérez, PhD, Fidel Rodríguez Hernández, PhD, Kristin Briem, PhD, Isidro Miguel Martín Pérez, MD

DOI
https://doi.org/10.37015/AUDT.2023.230036
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 7, no. 4
pp. 381 – 389

Abstract

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Objectives To measure the CSA of the HST musculature measured with ultrasonography in soccer players undergoing ACLR and compare limb differences with healthy controls. Methods A case-control study was performed with patients after anterior cruciate ligament repair (ACLR) and healthy controls in which cross-sectional areas (CSA) obtained using a model TE7 ultrasound machine (MINDRAY ®, USA) in B mode (4.2 to 13 MHz) with a multifrequency linear array transducer (L12-4S). Three CSA images were taken of the semitendinosus muscle (ST) and the long head of the biceps femoris (BFlh), at a distance of 30% and 70% of the ischial tuberosity insertion. Mean differences between groups were analyzed using SPSS v.20 (IBM®, USA), and statistical analyses were performed using non-parametric techniques to determine differences between groups (Student's t-test) and Cohen's correlation coefficient to quantify effect size. Results 14 ACLR operated 17 ± 5.4 months ago and 12 healthy controls (W = 6; M = 20M; 24.5 ± 3.92 years; BMI = 25.1 ± 2.32 kg/m2) were recruited. There were differences between groups in CSA-ST70 (Post-ACLR = 1.43 ± 1.029 cm2 vs Control 2.65 ± 0.664 cm2, T Student = -3.68, 95% CI [-Inf, -0.648], P < 0. 001, ES = -1.418), but not in CSA-ST30 (Post-ACLR = 8.42 ± 1.596 cm2 vs Control 9.16 ± 0.945 cm2, T Student = -1.535; 95% CI [-Inf, -0.0793], P = 0. 068, ES = -0.5607), CSA-BFlh30 (Post-ACLR = 8.79 ± 1.47 cm2 vs Control 8.87 ± 2.312 cm2, T Student = -0.123; 95% CI [-Inf, 1.1049], P = 0.452, ES = -0. 049) or CSA-BFlh70 (Post-ACLR = 6.91 ± 1.011 cm2 vs Control 7.01 ± 1.453 cm2, T Student = -0.214; 95% CI [-Inf, 0.6795], P = 0.416, ES = -0.0783). Conclusion Ultrasound measurement of the CSA can be an image marker to identify muscle weakness or atrophy that predicts functional loss early.

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