DocumentCode :
3085317
Title :
Assessment of myofascial trigger points (MTrPs): A new application of ultrasound imaging and vibration sonoelastography
Author :
Sikdar, Siddhartha ; Shah, Jay P. ; Gilliams, Elizabeth ; Gebreab, Tadesse ; Gerber, Lynn H.
Author_Institution :
George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030 USA
fYear :
2008
fDate :
20-25 Aug. 2008
Firstpage :
5585
Lastpage :
5588
Abstract :
Myofascial trigger points (MTrPs) are palpable hyperirritable nodules in skeletal muscle that are associated with chronic musculoskeletal pain. The goal of this study was to image MTrPs in the upper trapezius muscle using 2D gray scale ultrasound (US) and vibration sonoelastography (VSE) for differentiating the soft tissue characteristics of MTrPs compared to surrounding muscle. MTrPs appeared as hypoechoeic elliptically-shaped focal regions within the trapezius muscle on 2D US. Audio-frequency vibrations (100–250 Hz) were induced in the trapezius muscle of four volunteers with clinically identifiable MTrPs, and the induced vibration amplitudes were imaged using the color Doppler variance mode, and were further quantified using spectral Doppler analysis. Spectral Doppler analysis showed that vibration amplitudes were 27% lower on average within the MTrP compared to surrounding tissue (p<0.05). Color variance imaging consistently detected a focal region of reduced vibration amplitude, which correlated with the hypoechoeic region identified as an MTrP (r =0.76 for area). Real-time 2D US identifies MTrPs, and VSE is feasible for differentiating MTrPs from surrounding tissue. Preliminary findings show that MTrPs are hypoechoeic on 2D US and the relative stiffness of MTrPs can be quantified using VSE. Ultrasound offers a convenient, accessible and low-risk approach for identifying MTrPs and for evaluating clinical observations of palpable, painful nodules.
Keywords :
Acoustic imaging; Analysis of variance; Biological tissues; Image analysis; Image color analysis; Muscles; Musculoskeletal system; Pain; Spectral analysis; Ultrasonic imaging; Algorithms; Elasticity Imaging Techniques; Humans; Image Enhancement; Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; Myofascial Pain Syndromes; Physical Stimulation; Reproducibility of Results; Sensitivity and Specificity; Vibration;
fLanguage :
English
Publisher :
ieee
Conference_Titel :
Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, 2008. EMBS 2008. 30th Annual International Conference of the IEEE
Conference_Location :
Vancouver, BC
ISSN :
1557-170X
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4244-1814-5
Electronic_ISBN :
1557-170X
Type :
conf
DOI :
10.1109/IEMBS.2008.4650480
Filename :
4650480
Link To Document :
بازگشت