Cargando…

Reliability and Accuracy of a Time-Efficient Method for the Assessment of Achilles Tendon Mechanical Properties by Ultrasonography

The assessment of the force–length relationship under mechanical loading is widely used to evaluate the mechanical properties of tendons and to gain information about their adaptation, function, and injury. This study aimed to provide a time-efficient ultrasound method for assessing Achilles tendon...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Hunter, Steve, Werth, Julian, James, Darren, Lambrianides, Yiannis, Smith, Kenton, Karamanidis, Kiros, Epro, Gaspar
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9002634/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35408164
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/s22072549
_version_ 1784685938526388224
author Hunter, Steve
Werth, Julian
James, Darren
Lambrianides, Yiannis
Smith, Kenton
Karamanidis, Kiros
Epro, Gaspar
author_facet Hunter, Steve
Werth, Julian
James, Darren
Lambrianides, Yiannis
Smith, Kenton
Karamanidis, Kiros
Epro, Gaspar
author_sort Hunter, Steve
collection PubMed
description The assessment of the force–length relationship under mechanical loading is widely used to evaluate the mechanical properties of tendons and to gain information about their adaptation, function, and injury. This study aimed to provide a time-efficient ultrasound method for assessing Achilles tendon mechanical properties. On two days, eleven healthy young non-active adults performed eight maximal voluntary isometric ankle plantarflexion contractions on a dynamometer with simultaneous ultrasonographic recording. Maximal tendon elongation was assessed by digitizing ultrasound images at rest and at maximal tendon force. Achilles tendon stiffness index was calculated from the ratio of tendon force-to-strain. No within- and between-day differences were detected between the proposed method and manual frame by frame tracking in Achilles tendon maximal force, maximal elongation, maximal strain, and stiffness index. The overall coefficient of variation between trials ranged from 3.4% to 10.3% and average difference in tendon tracking between methods was less than 0.6% strain. Furthermore, an additional assessment demonstrated significant differences between elite athletes, healthy young, and older adults in Achilles tendon force and stiffness index. Hence, the analysis has the potential to reliably and accurately monitor changes in Achilles tendon mechanical properties due to aging and altered mechanical loading in a time-efficient manner.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-9002634
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2022
publisher MDPI
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-90026342022-04-13 Reliability and Accuracy of a Time-Efficient Method for the Assessment of Achilles Tendon Mechanical Properties by Ultrasonography Hunter, Steve Werth, Julian James, Darren Lambrianides, Yiannis Smith, Kenton Karamanidis, Kiros Epro, Gaspar Sensors (Basel) Article The assessment of the force–length relationship under mechanical loading is widely used to evaluate the mechanical properties of tendons and to gain information about their adaptation, function, and injury. This study aimed to provide a time-efficient ultrasound method for assessing Achilles tendon mechanical properties. On two days, eleven healthy young non-active adults performed eight maximal voluntary isometric ankle plantarflexion contractions on a dynamometer with simultaneous ultrasonographic recording. Maximal tendon elongation was assessed by digitizing ultrasound images at rest and at maximal tendon force. Achilles tendon stiffness index was calculated from the ratio of tendon force-to-strain. No within- and between-day differences were detected between the proposed method and manual frame by frame tracking in Achilles tendon maximal force, maximal elongation, maximal strain, and stiffness index. The overall coefficient of variation between trials ranged from 3.4% to 10.3% and average difference in tendon tracking between methods was less than 0.6% strain. Furthermore, an additional assessment demonstrated significant differences between elite athletes, healthy young, and older adults in Achilles tendon force and stiffness index. Hence, the analysis has the potential to reliably and accurately monitor changes in Achilles tendon mechanical properties due to aging and altered mechanical loading in a time-efficient manner. MDPI 2022-03-26 /pmc/articles/PMC9002634/ /pubmed/35408164 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/s22072549 Text en © 2022 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Hunter, Steve
Werth, Julian
James, Darren
Lambrianides, Yiannis
Smith, Kenton
Karamanidis, Kiros
Epro, Gaspar
Reliability and Accuracy of a Time-Efficient Method for the Assessment of Achilles Tendon Mechanical Properties by Ultrasonography
title Reliability and Accuracy of a Time-Efficient Method for the Assessment of Achilles Tendon Mechanical Properties by Ultrasonography
title_full Reliability and Accuracy of a Time-Efficient Method for the Assessment of Achilles Tendon Mechanical Properties by Ultrasonography
title_fullStr Reliability and Accuracy of a Time-Efficient Method for the Assessment of Achilles Tendon Mechanical Properties by Ultrasonography
title_full_unstemmed Reliability and Accuracy of a Time-Efficient Method for the Assessment of Achilles Tendon Mechanical Properties by Ultrasonography
title_short Reliability and Accuracy of a Time-Efficient Method for the Assessment of Achilles Tendon Mechanical Properties by Ultrasonography
title_sort reliability and accuracy of a time-efficient method for the assessment of achilles tendon mechanical properties by ultrasonography
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9002634/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35408164
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/s22072549
work_keys_str_mv AT huntersteve reliabilityandaccuracyofatimeefficientmethodfortheassessmentofachillestendonmechanicalpropertiesbyultrasonography
AT werthjulian reliabilityandaccuracyofatimeefficientmethodfortheassessmentofachillestendonmechanicalpropertiesbyultrasonography
AT jamesdarren reliabilityandaccuracyofatimeefficientmethodfortheassessmentofachillestendonmechanicalpropertiesbyultrasonography
AT lambrianidesyiannis reliabilityandaccuracyofatimeefficientmethodfortheassessmentofachillestendonmechanicalpropertiesbyultrasonography
AT smithkenton reliabilityandaccuracyofatimeefficientmethodfortheassessmentofachillestendonmechanicalpropertiesbyultrasonography
AT karamanidiskiros reliabilityandaccuracyofatimeefficientmethodfortheassessmentofachillestendonmechanicalpropertiesbyultrasonography
AT eprogaspar reliabilityandaccuracyofatimeefficientmethodfortheassessmentofachillestendonmechanicalpropertiesbyultrasonography