Rehabilitative ultrasound imaging of the levator scapula muscle at rest and during contraction: Technical description and reliability

Authors

Fariba Khosravi, Department of Physiotherapy University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Mahsa Rahnama, Department of Radiology, Medical Imaging Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Noureddin Karimi, Department of Physiotherapy University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Mohsen Amiri, Department of Physiotherapy University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Mark D. Geil, Kennesaw State University
Leila Rahnama, Department of Health Promotion and Physical Education, Wellstar College of Health and Human Services, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA, USA. Electronic address: lrahnama@kennesaw.edu.

Department

Exercise Science and Sport Managment

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

10-1-2021

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Altered scapular muscle activity is associated with abnormal scapular motions and shoulder pain. Hence, quantification of these activities is a challenging issue. OBJECTIVES: The purposes of this study were to establish the reliability of measuring levator scapula muscle thickness and to examine how thickness of this muscle changes with contraction. METHODS: Twenty-one asymptomatic individuals (mean age 22.29 ± 2.17 years) participated in this study. Three separate ultrasound images of the levator scapula muscle were captured at the neck-shoulder junction at rest and during a loaded isometric contraction. The procedures were repeated twice, four to seven days apart to establish intra-rater test-retest reliability. Interclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and standard error of measurement (SEM) were used to determine the reliability, and a paired t-test was performed to examine the difference in muscle thickness between two conditions. RESULTS: The results demonstrated that intra-examiner reliability was good at rest (ICC = 0.88, SEM = 1.16 mm) and excellent during loaded isometric contraction (ICC = 0.95, SEM = 0.91 mm). Furthermore, the thickness of levator scapula muscle significantly increased from rest to the loaded isometric contraction (Effect size = 1.99, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that the thickness of the levator scapula muscle can be measured reliably at the neck-shoulder junction. Furthermore, ultrasound measures can reliably detect changes in muscle thickness from rest to a contracted state. Therefore, if the need exists to evaluate muscle morphology before and after any treatment strategy, thickness measurement of levator scapula can be determined reliably using ultrasound.

Journal Title

Journal of bodywork and movement therapies

Volume

28

First Page

411

Last Page

417

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1016/j.jbmt.2021.07.023