HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: ptj.20080331v1 89/8/756    most recent Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when Rapid Responses are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Costa, L. O. P. Articles by Smeets, R. J.E.M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Costa, L. O. P. Articles by Smeets, R. J.E.M. Related Collections Injuries and Conditions: Low Back Evidence-Based Practice Systematic Reviews/Meta-analyses Tests and Measurements Social Bookmarking                      What's this?

Reproducibility of Rehabilitative Ultrasound Imaging for the Measurement of Abdominal Muscle Activity: A Systematic Review

L.O.P. Costa, PT, is a PhD candidate, The George Institute for International Health, The University of Sydney, PO Box M201, Missenden Road, Sydney, New South Wales, 2050 Australia.
C.G. Maher, PT, PhD, is Director, Musculoskeletal Division, The George Institute for International Health, The University of Sydney.
J. Latimer, PT, PhD, is Associate Professor, The George Institute for International Health, The University of Sydney.
R.J.E.M. Smeets, MD, is Rehabilitation Physician, The George Institute for International Health, The University of Sydney; Rehabilitation Foundation Limburg, Hoensbroek, the Netherlands; and Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Care and Public Health Research Institute, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands.

Address all correspondence to Mr Costa at: lcos3060{at}gmail.com

Background: Rehabilitative ultrasound imaging (RUSI) measures of abdominal wall muscles are used to indirectly measure muscle activity. These measures are used to identify suitable patients and to monitor progress of motor control exercise treatment of people with low back pain.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to systematically review reproducibility studies of RUSI for measuring thickness of abdominal wall muscles.

Data Sources: Eligible studies were identified via searches of MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CINAHL. The authors also searched personal files and tracked references of the retrieved studies via the Web of Science Index.

Study Selection: Studies involving any type of reliability and or agreement of any type of ultrasound measurements (B or M mode) for any of the abdominal wall muscles were selected.

Data Extraction: Two independent reviewers extracted data and assessed methodological quality.

Data Synthesis: Due to heterogeneity of the studies’ designs, pooling the data for a meta-analysis was not possible. Twenty-one studies were included, and these studies were typically of low quality and studied subjects who were healthy rather than people seeking care for low back pain. The studies reported good to excellent reliability for single measures of thickness and poor to good reliability for measures of thickness change (reflecting the muscle activity). Interestingly, no studies checked reliability of measures of the difference in thickness changes over time (representing improvement or deterioration in muscle activity).

Conclusions: The current evidence of the reproducibility of RUSI for measuring abdominal muscle activity is based mainly on studies with suboptimal designs and the study of people who were healthy. The critical question of whether RUSI provides reliable measures of improvement in abdominal muscle activity remains to be evaluated.

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				C. Maher PRISMA: Helping to Deliver Information That Physical Therapists Need Physical Therapy, September 1, 2009; 89(9): 870 - 872. [Full Text] [PDF]