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Early Skeletal Muscle Ultrasound Changes in Survivors of Spinal Cord Injury

Matthew Tay (TTSH, Singapore)

Meeting: AAPM&R Annual Assembly 2021

Categories: Musculoskeletal and Sports Medicine (2021)

Session Information

Session Title: Research Spotlight: Musculoskeletal and Sports Medicine

Session Time: None. Available on demand.

Disclosures: Matthew Tay: No financial relationships or conflicts of interest

Objective: To study changes in muscle thickness and echo intensity over 4 weeks in the lower extremities of patients with motor complete spinal cord injury after acute injury.

Design: Prospective cohort study.Setting : Tertiary rehabilitation center.Participants : 20 consecutive patients with motor complete spinal cord injury.

Interventions: An initial ultrasound assessment was performed within 2 weeks of injury, and a follow-up assessment was performed at 4 weeks. Ultrasound measurements were performed using B-mode ultrasound scanning and standardized protocols.

Main Outcome Measures: Muscle thickness and echo intensity of the rectus femoris and medial gastrocnemius.

Results: There were 4 patients with an ASIA A injury and 16 patients with an ASIA B injury. The mean time to the first ultrasound measurement was 17.2 days. The mean rectus femoris muscle thickness and echo intensity on admission was 100mm (±42.8) and 71.3 (±28.8) au, and 89.9mm (±47.7) and 79.7 au (±32.1) on discharge, respectively. The medial gastrocnemius muscle thickness and echo intensity on admission was 10.6mm (±8.78) and 72.3 (±18.0) au, and 10.1mm (±7.49) and 74.8 au (±18.2) on discharge, respectively. We found that there was a mean percentage difference in the rectus femoris muscle thickness during the study duration of -18.7% (p=0.027), as well as a mean increase in the rectus femoris echo intensity of 13.0 a.u. (p=0.009). However, changes in the medial gastrocnemius muscle were not found to be significant.Conclusions: We report acute changes in muscle thickness and echo intensity in the rectus femoris muscle over the acute period in patients with motor complete spinal injuries. These findings may be clinically relevant for prognosticating muscle recovery in this group of patients.

Level of Evidence: Level I

To cite this abstract in AMA style:

Tay M. Early Skeletal Muscle Ultrasound Changes in Survivors of Spinal Cord Injury [abstract]. PM R. 2021; 13(S1)(suppl 1). https://pmrjabstracts.org/abstract/early-skeletal-muscle-ultrasound-changes-in-survivors-of-spinal-cord-injury/. Accessed May 11, 2025.
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