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Hamstring stiffness pattern during contraction in healthy individuals: analysis by ultrasound-based shear wave elastography

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Abstract

Purpose

To assess the stiffness of hamstring muscles during isometric contractions in healthy individuals, using ultrasound-based shear wave elastography to (1) determine the intra- and inter-day assessment repeatability, (2) characterize the stiffness of semitendinosus (ST) and biceps femoris long head (BFlh) along the contraction intensity, and (3) characterize stiffness distribution among the hamstring muscles and inter-limb symmetry.

Methods

Two experiments were conducted. In experiment I (n = 12), the intra-day repeatability in assessing the BFlh and ST stiffness were determined at intensities between 10–60% of maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) in a single session. In experiment II (n = 11), the stiffness of the hamstring muscles of both thighs was assessed at 20% of MVIC in the first session; and retested (for one randomly chosen thigh) in a second session. Isometric contraction of knee flexors was performed with the knee flexed at 30° and with the hip in a neutral position.

Results

Moderate-to-very-high intra- and inter-day repeatability was found (ICC = 0.69–0.93). The BFlh/ST stiffness ratio increased with contraction intensity. At 20% of MVIC, the ST showed the highest stiffness among the hamstring muscles (p < 0.02), with no differences between the remaining hamstring muscles (p > 0.474). No differences were found between limbs (p = 0.12).

Conclusions

The stiffness distribution among the hamstring muscles during submaximal isometric contractions is heterogeneous, but symmetric between limbs, and changes depending on the contraction intensity. Shear wave elastography is a reliable tool to assess the stiffness of hamstring muscles during contraction.

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Abbreviations

BFlh:

Biceps femoris long head

BFlh/ST:

Biceps femoris long head to semitendinosus ratio

BFsh:

Biceps femoris short head

d :

Cohen effect size

ICC:

Intraclass correlation coefficient

MVIC:

Maximum voluntary isometric contractions

r :

Pearson correlation coefficient

sEMG:

Surface electromyography

SEM:

Standard error of measurement

SM:

Semimembranosus

ST:

Semitendinosus

SWE:

Ultrasound-based shear wave elastography

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Acknowledgements

The authors confirm that they have read the Journal’s position on issues involved in ethical publication and affirm that this report is consistent with those guidelines.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Bruno Mendes and Telmo Firmino are contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculdade de Motricidade Humana, Universidade de Lisboa, Estrada da Costa, Cruz Quebrada, Dafundo, 1499-002, Lisboa, Portugal

    Bruno Mendes, Telmo Firmino, Raúl Oliveira, Tiago Neto, Jorge Infante, João R. Vaz & Sandro R. Freitas

  2. Benfica LAB, Sport Lisboa e Benfica, Lisboa, Portugal

    Telmo Firmino

  3. ESSA, Escola Superior de Saúde do Alcoitão, Cascais, Portugal

    Telmo Firmino

  4. Department of Physiotherapy, LUNEX International University of Health, Exercise and Sports, Differdange, Luxembourg

    Tiago Neto

  5. Universidade Europeia, Laureate International Universities, Estrada da Correia, 53, 1500-210, Lisboa, Portugal

    João R. Vaz

  6. Department of Biomechanics, University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha, NE, USA

    João R. Vaz

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  1. Bruno Mendes
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Contributions

All authors conceived and designed the research. TF and BM conducted experiments. TN processed the data. TF and BM analyzed data. TF and BM wrote the manuscript. All authors read and approved the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sandro R. Freitas.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

None of the authors has any conflict of interest to disclose. JV is funded by P20GM109090.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. We are thankful to Mr. Vitor Meha for his great contribution in the experimental setup.

Additional information

Communicated by Olivier Seynnes.

The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Council of the Faculty of Human Kinetics, University of Lisbon. The authors certify that they have no affiliations with or financial involvement in any organization or entity with a direct financial interest in the subject matter or materials discussed in the article.

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Mendes, B., Firmino, T., Oliveira, R. et al. Hamstring stiffness pattern during contraction in healthy individuals: analysis by ultrasound-based shear wave elastography. Eur J Appl Physiol 118, 2403–2415 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-018-3967-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-018-3967-z

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