TY - JOUR
T1 - Measurement of stiffness changes in immobilized muscle using magnetic resonance elastography
AU - Muraki, Takayuki
AU - Domire, Zachary J.
AU - McCullough, Matthew B.
AU - Chen, Qingshan
AU - An, Kai Nan
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported by a Grant from the NIBIB , R01EB 00812 . The study sponsor had no role in the study design, collection, analysis or interpretation of the data. The study sponsor had no role in writing the manuscript or the decision to submit the manuscript for publication.
PY - 2010/6
Y1 - 2010/6
N2 - Background: The isolated evaluation of changes in muscle following immobilization and disuse is a challenge in living subjects. The purpose of this study was to determine whether magnetic resonance elastography is capable of detecting these changes. Methods: An animal model was created to produce a mild joint contracture following 42 days of one forelimb immobilization in a maximally flexed position with twice-daily passive exercise. Eight pairs of dog forelimbs were harvested. Magnetic resonance elastography scans were performed on the experimental limb in an extended elbow position with a torque of 0.6 N m. Scans of the contralateral limb were performed in two conditions, position matching and torque matching. Furthermore, wet weight, cross sectional area, resting muscle length, and range of elbow joint motion were measured. Findings: The muscle from the experimental limb showed significant reduction in muscle mass, cross sectional area, slack length, and range of elbow motion. When comparing limbs in position matching condition, the muscle lengths were similar, and the experimental muscle had a significantly higher shear modulus (79.1 (SD 12.0) kPa) than the contralateral muscle (31.9 (SD 24.4) kPa). When comparing limbs in torque matching conditions, the muscle strains were similar, and the experimental muscle had a significantly lower shear modulus than the contralateral muscle (113.0 (SD 24.8) kPa). Interpretation: These findings suggest that following immobilization, magnetic resonance elastography has the potential to be used as a clinical tool to guide rehabilitation and as a research tool to study the loss of passive elastic components of muscle.
AB - Background: The isolated evaluation of changes in muscle following immobilization and disuse is a challenge in living subjects. The purpose of this study was to determine whether magnetic resonance elastography is capable of detecting these changes. Methods: An animal model was created to produce a mild joint contracture following 42 days of one forelimb immobilization in a maximally flexed position with twice-daily passive exercise. Eight pairs of dog forelimbs were harvested. Magnetic resonance elastography scans were performed on the experimental limb in an extended elbow position with a torque of 0.6 N m. Scans of the contralateral limb were performed in two conditions, position matching and torque matching. Furthermore, wet weight, cross sectional area, resting muscle length, and range of elbow joint motion were measured. Findings: The muscle from the experimental limb showed significant reduction in muscle mass, cross sectional area, slack length, and range of elbow motion. When comparing limbs in position matching condition, the muscle lengths were similar, and the experimental muscle had a significantly higher shear modulus (79.1 (SD 12.0) kPa) than the contralateral muscle (31.9 (SD 24.4) kPa). When comparing limbs in torque matching conditions, the muscle strains were similar, and the experimental muscle had a significantly lower shear modulus than the contralateral muscle (113.0 (SD 24.8) kPa). Interpretation: These findings suggest that following immobilization, magnetic resonance elastography has the potential to be used as a clinical tool to guide rehabilitation and as a research tool to study the loss of passive elastic components of muscle.
KW - Immobilized muscle
KW - Magnetic resonance elastography
KW - Muscle atrophy
KW - Muscle contracture
KW - Muscle stiffness
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U2 - 10.1016/j.clinbiomech.2010.02.006
DO - 10.1016/j.clinbiomech.2010.02.006
M3 - Article
C2 - 20236744
AN - SCOPUS:77951296888
SN - 0268-0033
VL - 25
SP - 499
EP - 503
JO - Clinical Biomechanics
JF - Clinical Biomechanics
IS - 5
ER -