Measurement of thigh muscle size using tape or ultrasound is a poor indicator of thigh muscle strength

2009 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 145-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kieran O'Sullivan ◽  
David Sainsbury ◽  
Richard O'Connor
2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 579-596 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Segura-Ortí ◽  
P. L. Gordon ◽  
J. W. Doyle ◽  
K. L. Johansen

The aim of this study was to determine the extent to which poor physical functioning, low participation in physical activity, and muscle atrophy observed among patients on hemodialysis are evident in the earlier stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD). We enrolled adults in three groups: no CKD, Stages 3 to 4 CKD, and hemodialysis. Outcomes measured were physical activity, muscle size, thigh muscle strength, physical performance, and self-reported physical function. Patients with CKD had muscle area intermediate between the no CKD and hemodialysis groups, but they had low levels of physical activity that were similar to the hemodialysis group. Physical activity and muscle size were significantly associated with all outcomes. Kidney function was not significantly associated with muscle strength or physical performance after adjustment for physical activity and muscle size. In conclusion, interventions aimed to increase muscle mass and energy expenditure might have an impact on improving physical function of CKD patients.


2002 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 369-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ursula Barrett ◽  
Drew Harrison

This study examined the force-velocity and power-velocity relationships of the quadriceps muscles of children and adults. Measurements of muscle function were collected using the Con-Trex isokinetic dynamometer. Twenty adults and twenty children performed maximal effort knee extensions at nine different velocities. The mean force-velocity curves of children and adults revealed obvious differences between the groups. The curves remained different following corrections of torque for CSA and velocity for length. ANOVA revealed significant differences in the uncorrected values of power between the two groups. When power values were corrected for lean thigh muscle volume, no significant differences were found between the groups. These findings suggest that differences in muscle strength between children and adults are a function of muscle size and imply that muscle function remains relatively unchanged from childhood to early adulthood.


2019 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
G.J. Grosicki ◽  
B.B. Barrett ◽  
D.A. Englund ◽  
C. Liu ◽  
T.G. Travison ◽  
...  

Background: Human aging is characterized by a chronic, low-grade inflammation suspected to contribute to reductions in skeletal muscle size, strength, and function. Inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin-6 (IL-6), may play a role in the reduced skeletal muscle adaptive response seen in older individuals. Objectives: To investigate relationships between circulating IL-6, skeletal muscle health and exercise adaptation in mobility-limited older adults. Design: Randomized controlled trial. Setting: Exercise laboratory on the Health Sciences campus of an urban university. Participants: 99 mobility-limited (Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) ≤9) older adults. Intervention: 6-month structured physical activity with or without a protein and vitamin D nutritional supplement. Measurements: Circulating IL-6, skeletal muscle size, composition (percent normal density muscle tissue), strength, power, and specific force (strength/CSA) as well as physical function (gait speed, stair climb time, SPPB-score) were measured pre- and post-intervention. Results: At baseline, Spearman’s correlations demonstrated an inverse relationship (P<0.05) between circulating IL-6 and thigh muscle composition (r = -0.201), strength (r = -0.311), power (r = -0.210), and specific force (r = -0.248), and positive association between IL-6 and stair climb time (r = 0.256; P<0.05). Although the training program did not affect circulating IL-6 levels (P=0.69), reductions in IL-6 were associated with gait speed improvements (r = -0.487; P<0.05) in “higher” IL-6 individuals (>1.36 pg/ml). Moreover, baseline IL-6 was inversely associated (P<0.05) with gains in appendicular lean mass and improvements in SPPB score (r = -0.211 and -0.237, respectively). Conclusions: These findings implicate age-related increases in circulating IL-6 as an important contributor to declines in skeletal muscle strength, quality, function, and training-mediated adaptation. Given the pervasive nature of inflammation among older adults, novel therapeutic strategies to reduce IL-6 as a means of preserving skeletal muscle health are enticing.


2004 ◽  
Vol 96 (3) ◽  
pp. 1055-1062 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Todd Schroeder ◽  
Ling Zheng ◽  
Kevin E. Yarasheski ◽  
Dajun Qian ◽  
Yolanda Stewart ◽  
...  

We investigated the effects of the anabolic androgen, oxandrolone, on lean body mass (LBM), muscle size, fat, and maximum voluntary muscle strength, and we determined the durability of effects after treatment was stopped. Thirty-two healthy 60- to 87-yr-old men were randomized to receive 20 mg oxandrolone/day ( n = 20) or placebo ( n = 12) for 12 wk. Body composition [dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA), magnetic resonance imaging, and 2H2O dilution] and muscle strength [1 repetition maximum (1 RM)] were evaluated at baseline and after 12 wk of treatment; body composition (DEXA) and 1-RM strength were then assessed 12 wk after treatment was discontinued ( week 24). At week 12, oxandrolone increased LBM by 3.0 ± 1.5 kg ( P < 0.001), total body water by 2.9 ± 3.7 kg ( P = 0.002), and proximal thigh muscle area by 12.4 ± 8.4 cm2 ( P < 0.001); these increases were greater ( P < 0.003) than in the placebo group. Oxandrolone increased 1-RM strength for leg press by 6.7 ± 6.4% ( P < 0.001), leg flexion by 7.0 ± 7.8% ( P < 0.001), chest press by 9.3 ± 6.7% ( P < 0.001), and latissimus pull-down exercises by 5.1 ± 9.1% ( P = 0.02); these increases were greater than placebo. Oxandrolone reduced total (-1.9 ± 1.0 kg) and trunk fat (-1.3 ± 0.6 kg; P < 0.001), and these decreases were greater ( P < 0.001) than placebo. Twelve weeks after oxandrolone was discontinued ( week 24), the increments in LBM and muscle strength were no longer different from baseline ( P > 0.15). However, the decreases in total and trunk fat were sustained (-1.5 ± 1.8, P = 0.001 and -1.0 ± 1.1 kg, P < 0.001, respectively). Thus oxandrolone induced short-term improvements in LBM, muscle area, and strength, while reducing whole body and trunk adiposity. Anabolic improvements were lost 12 wk after discontinuing oxandrolone, whereas improvements in fat mass were largely sustained.


Diagnostics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 302
Author(s):  
Michael Dieckmeyer ◽  
Stephanie Inhuber ◽  
Sarah Schläger ◽  
Dominik Weidlich ◽  
Muthu R. K. Mookiah ◽  
...  

Purpose: Based on conventional and quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), texture analysis (TA) has shown encouraging results as a biomarker for tissue structure. Chemical shift encoding-based water–fat MRI (CSE-MRI)-derived proton density fat fraction (PDFF) of thigh muscles has been associated with musculoskeletal, metabolic, and neuromuscular disorders and was demonstrated to predict muscle strength. The purpose of this study was to investigate PDFF-based TA of thigh muscles as a predictor of thigh muscle strength in comparison to mean PDFF. Methods: 30 healthy subjects (age = 30 ± 6 years; 15 females) underwent CSE-MRI of the lumbar spine at 3T, using a six-echo 3D spoiled gradient echo sequence. Quadriceps (EXT) and ischiocrural (FLEX) muscles were segmented to extract mean PDFF and texture features. Muscle flexion and extension strength were measured with an isokinetic dynamometer. Results: Of the eleven extracted texture features, Variance(global) showed the highest significant correlation with extension strength (p < 0.001, R2adj = 0.712), and Correlation showed the highest significant correlation with flexion strength (p = 0.016, R2adj = 0.658). Multivariate linear regression models identified Variance(global) and sex, but not PDFF, as significant predictors of extension strength (R2adj = 0.709; p < 0.001), while mean PDFF, sex, and BMI, but none of the texture features, were identified as significant predictors of flexion strength (R2adj = 0.674; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Prediction of quadriceps muscle strength can be improved beyond mean PDFF by means of TA, indicating the capability to quantify muscular fat infiltration patterns.


2021 ◽  
Vol 47 ◽  
pp. e4
Author(s):  
Daniel Germano Maciel ◽  
Mikhail Santos Cerqueira ◽  
Jean Arthur Mendonça Barboza ◽  
José Diego Sales do Nascimento ◽  
Wouber Hérickson de Brito Vieira

Author(s):  
Omer Ayik ◽  
Mehmet Demirel ◽  
Fevzi Birisik ◽  
Ali Ersen ◽  
Halil I. Balci ◽  
...  

AbstractThe present randomized controlled study aims to evaluate whether tourniquet application during total knee arthroplasty (TKA) has an effect on (1) thigh muscle strength (quadriceps and hamstring muscle strength) and (2) clinical outcomes (postoperative knee range of motion [ROM], postoperative pain level, and Knee Society Score [KSS]). The effects of tourniquet application during TKA were investigated in 65 patients randomly allocated to one of two groups: TKA with a tourniquet and TKA without a tourniquet. Patients in both groups were comparable in terms of the demographic and clinical data (p > 0.05 for age, number of patients, sex, radiographic gonarthrosis grade, American Society of Anesthesiologists [ASA] classification, and body mass index [BMI]). All patients in both groups were operated by the same surgeon using one type of prosthesis. Isokinetic muscle strength (peak torque and total work) of knee extensors (quadriceps) and flexors (hamstrings) was measured in Newton meters (Nm) using a CYBEX 350 isokinetic dynamometer (HUMAC/CYBEX 2009, Stoughton, MA). The combined KSS (knee score + function score), visual analog scale (VAS), and knee ROM were measured preoperatively and at 1 and 3 months postoperatively to evaluate clinical outcomes. There were no significant differences between the two groups in preoperative and postoperative values of isokinetic muscle strength (peak torque and total work) and aforementioned clinical outcomes (p < 0.05). The present study has shown that quadriceps strength and clinical outcomes were not improved in the early postoperative period (3 months) when a tourniquet was not used during TKA.


2007 ◽  
Vol 102 (2) ◽  
pp. 634-640 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward P. Weiss ◽  
Susan B. Racette ◽  
Dennis T. Villareal ◽  
Luigi Fontana ◽  
Karen Steger-May ◽  
...  

Caloric restriction (CR) results in fat loss; however, it may also result in loss of muscle and thereby reduce strength and aerobic capacity (V̇o2 max). These effects may not occur with exercise-induced weight loss (EX) because of the anabolic effects of exercise on heart and skeletal muscle. We tested the hypothesis that CR reduces muscle size and strength and V̇o2 max, whereas EX preserves or improves these parameters. Healthy 50- to 60-yr-old men and women (body mass index of 23.5–29.9 kg/m2) were studied before and after 12 mo of weight loss by CR ( n = 18) or EX ( n = 16). Lean mass was assessed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, thigh muscle volume by MRI, isometric and isokinetic knee flexor strength by dynamometry, and treadmill V̇o2 max by indirect calorimetry. Both interventions caused significant decreases in body weight (CR: −10.7 ± 1.4%, EX: −9.5 ± 1.5%) and lean mass (CR: −3.5 ± 0.7%, EX: −2.2 ± 0.8%), with no significant differences between groups. Significant decreases in thigh muscle volume (−6.9 ± 0.8%) and composite knee flexion strength (−7.2 ± 3%) occurred in the CR group only. Absolute V̇o2 max decreased significantly in the CR group (−6.8 ± 2.3%), whereas the EX group had significant increases in both absolute (+15.5 ± 2.4%) and relative (+28.3 ± 3.0%) V̇o2 max. These data provide evidence that muscle mass and absolute physical work capacity decrease in response to 12 mo of CR but not in response to a similar weight loss induced by exercise. These findings suggest that, during EX, the body adapts to maintain or even enhance physical performance capacity.


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