Five-Compressions Protocol as a Valid Myotonometric Method to Assess the Stiffness of the Lower Limbs: A Brief Report

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the validity of a short assessment MyotonPRO protocol to measure the stiffness of the superficial muscles and tendons of the lower limbs. The stiffness of the dominant lower limb vastus lateralis (VL), rectus femoris (RF) and patellar tendon (PT) was evaluated in 52 healthy participants (26.9 ± 3.4 years) with two MyotonPRO protocols: the standard protocol (10 mechanical taps) and the short protocol (five mechanical taps). The myotonometry was performed at the midpoint of the length from the upper pole of the patella to the greater trochanter for the VL, and to the anterior superior iliac spine for the RF. The PT was evaluated 1 cm caudal from the inferior pole of the patella. Pearson’s correlation coefficients were calculated to determine the relationships between protocols. The validity of the short protocol was evaluated with Student’s t-test. High positive correlations were observed between the short and standard protocols in the stiffness of the VL (r = 0.959; p < 0.001), the RF (r = 0.967; p < 0.001) and the PT (r = 0.953; p < 0.001) and no differences were found between both protocols in the stiffness assessment of the VL, RF and PT (p > 0.05). Therefore, the five-compressions protocol is a valid protocol for the assessment of lower limb mechanical properties.

Effects of maturation on myotonometric parameters and their predictors of athletic performance in elite youth soccer players

“…Creep signifies the gradual elongation of the muscle over time when subjected to constant tensile stress 22 . The mean value of five consecutive measurements at each anatomical site was used for analysis 23 . If the coefficient of variation exceeded 3%, the measurement was repeated.…”

Evaluating the Reliability of MyotonPro in Assessing Muscle Properties: A Systematic Review of Diagnostic Test Accuracy

“…The diagnostic value of the rectus femoris muscle was evaluated in eleven studies [31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41]. The parameters frequency, stiffness, decrement, creep, and relaxation were recorded.…”

“…The inter-rater reliability was examined in six studies with a total of 185 healthy test subjects [32][33][34][37][38][39]. The subjects were aged between 20 and 82 years.…”

“…Decrement: Intra-rater reliability was not investigated in any study. The inter-rater reliability was examined in two studies with a total of 72 healthy test subjects [37,39]. The reliability ranged between ICC 0.83 and ICC 0.91, resulting in a weighted mean average ICC of 0.87.…”

Quantitative evaluation of the biomechanical and viscoelastic properties of the dog patellar tendon in response to neuromuscular blockade at different stifle angles

“…Myotonometric evaluations are based on the oscillation theory that involves the application of several mechanical impulses to soft tissue and measuring the reflected energy, representing the tissue’s viscoelastic properties. The device has several advantages: it is portable, non-invasive, painless, and highly reliable [ 10 , 11 ].…”