Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, National Taiwan University Hospital, School of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China.
Ultrasound Med Biol. 2013 Aug;39(8):1356-61. doi: 10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2012.11.015. Epub 2013 May 15.
This study aimed to quantify neck muscle stiffness in the normal population with ultrasound elastography. We applied the acoustic radiation force impulse technique and measured shear wave velocities (SWVs) as representative values. The mean ± standard deviation values of SWV in 20 healthy volunteers were 2.09 ± 0.45, 1.21 ± 0.30, 1.12 ± 0.17 and 0.97 ± 0.10 m/s for the trapezius, levator scapulae, scalene anterior and sternocleidomastoid muscles, respectively. The SWV values of the four muscles significantly differed (Kruskal-Wallis test, p < 0.001). The SWV values for the trapezius muscle correlated with body mass indexes (Pearson's correlation, p = 0.034). Subjects with chronic neck pain symptoms had significantly stiffer trapezius muscle (Mann-Whitney U test, p = 0.008). This study demonstrated the technique and feasibility of quantifying neck muscle stiffness using acoustic radiation force impulse elastography and shear wave velocity detection. Further study is necessary to evaluate its diagnostic power in assessing various neck muscle diseases.
本研究旨在应用声辐射力脉冲技术通过超声弹性成像定量测量正常人群颈部肌肉的僵硬程度，并以剪切波速度（SWV）作为代表值。20 名健康志愿者的斜方肌、肩胛提肌、前斜角肌和胸锁乳突肌的 SWV 平均值±标准差分别为 2.09±0.45、1.21±0.30、1.12±0.17 和 0.97±0.10 m/s。这四块肌肉的 SWV 值差异具有统计学意义（Kruskal-Wallis 检验，p<0.001）。斜方肌的 SWV 值与体重指数呈正相关（Pearson 相关，p=0.034）。患有慢性颈痛症状的受试者其斜方肌僵硬程度显著增加（Mann-Whitney U 检验，p=0.008）。本研究表明，应用声辐射力脉冲弹性成像和剪切波速度检测技术定量测量颈部肌肉僵硬程度是可行的。需要进一步的研究来评估其在评估各种颈部肌肉疾病中的诊断能力。
