| Abstract | Between 2002 and 2014, the incidence of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction increased by 22%. Additionally, the risk of ACL reinjury is six times greater than that of first-time risk of injury. Because of this, novel metrics for physical therapists to use for protocol clearance should be examined. Ultrasonography is becoming more accessible, affordable and provides measures of both muscle size and muscle quality that could be beneficial for practitioners. The purpose of this study is to examine differences in ultrasonographic measures of muscle thickness and echo intensity (EI) in the ACL population compared to healthy controls. Twenty-six individuals who have undergone ACL reconstruction (males: n=12, females: n=14, age: 23±3.55) and twenty healthy controls (males: n=10, females: n=10, age: 25±3.62) were pulled from various ACL studies conducted within the lab. Longitudinal images displaying the rectus femoris (RF) and vastus intermedius (VI) were collected and analyzed for the thickness and EI (raw and corrected) of both muscles. The average time since reconstruction was 48±38 months and ranged from 3 to 120 months. Results showed that the RF was unaffected in the ACL group (p=1.000) whereas the VI experienced significant atrophy (p<0.001). There was no statistical difference between groups for raw EI, but corrected EI displayed a significant interaction between legs and groups (p=0.024). Overall, this data indicates that with the growing accessibility of ultrasound technology, its ability to provide data on muscle size and quality could be a novel metric for practitioners to utilize for clearance of their patients to return to daily activities. |
