Dataset Information

Strain Elastography and Tendon Response to an Exercise Program in Patients With Supraspinatus Tendinopathy: An Exploratory Study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Shoulder pain is common, with a lifetime prevalence of up to 67%. Evidence is conflicting in relation to imaging findings and pain in the shoulder. Sonoelastography can be used to estimate tissue stiffness and may be a clinically relevant technique for diagnosing and monitoring tendon healing.

Purpose

To evaluate changes in supraspinatus tendon stiffness using strain elastography (SEL) and associations with changes in patient-reported outcomes, supraspinatus tendon thickness, and grade of tendinopathy after 12 weeks of unilateral shoulder exercises in patients with supraspinatus tendinopathy.

Study design

Controlled laboratory study.

Methods

A total of 23 patients with unilateral clinical supraspinatus tendinopathy performed 12 weeks of "standard care" exercises. At baseline and follow-up, supraspinatus tendon stiffness was measured bilaterally using SEL and compared with tendinopathy grading on magnetic resonance imaging scans and tendon thickness measured using conventional ultrasound. Patient-reported outcome measures included physical function and symptoms from the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand questionnaire and pain rating (visual analog scale).

Results

No significant changes in SEL within or between groups (asymptomatic vs symptomatic tendon) were seen. All patient-reported outcomes showed significant improvement from baseline to follow-up, but with no change in tendinopathy grading and tendon thickness. No significant differences in the proportion of patients changing above the minimal detectable change in SEL and PROM were seen, except for discomfort while sleeping.

Conclusion

Despite no significant within-group or between-group changes in SEL, significant improvements were found in patient-reported outcomes. An acceptable agreement between patients changing above the minimal detectable change in SEL and patient-reported outcome measure was seen. Further studies should explore the use of SEL to detect changes after tendon repair and long-term training potentially in subgroups of different tendinopathy phases.

Clinical relevance

In the short term, structural changes in supraspinatus tendons could not be visualized using SEL, indicating that a longer time span should be expected in order to observe structural changes, which should be considered before return to sports. Subgrouping based on stage of tendinopathy may also be important in order to evaluate changes over time with SEL among patients with supraspinatus tendinopathy.

Registration

NCT03425357 (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier).

SUBMITTER: Brage K

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7747122 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Strain Elastography and Tendon Response to an Exercise Program in Patients With Supraspinatus Tendinopathy: An Exploratory Study.

Brage Karen K Juul-Kristensen Birgit B Hjarbaek John J Boyle Eleanor E Kjaer Per P Ingwersen Kim Gordon KG

Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine 20201216 12

<h4>Background</h4>Shoulder pain is common, with a lifetime prevalence of up to 67%. Evidence is conflicting in relation to imaging findings and pain in the shoulder. Sonoelastography can be used to estimate tissue stiffness and may be a clinically relevant technique for diagnosing and monitoring tendon healing.<h4>Purpose</h4>To evaluate changes in supraspinatus tendon stiffness using strain elastography (SEL) and associations with changes in patient-reported outcomes, supraspinatus tendon thic ...[more]

PMID: 33403207

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Project description:ObjectivesThe reliability of ultrasonic strain elastography (SEL) used to detect abnormalities in the supraspinatus tendon is unclear. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the reliability of SEL in the supraspinatus tendon.DesignAn intra-rater and inter-rater reliability study.SettingA single-centre study conducted at the University of Southern Denmark.ParticipantsTwenty participants with shoulder pain and MRI-verified supraspinatus tendinosis and 20 asymptomatic participants (no MRI).Primary and secondary outcome measuresRaw values (RAW) and ratios (deltoid muscle (DELT) and gel pad (GEL) as reference tissues) were calculated and mean values of measurements from three regions of the supraspinatus tendon were reported. Colour scale ratings and number of yellow/red lesions from the three areas were also included.ResultsIntra-rater reliability showed intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) for RAW, DELT and GEL: 0.97 (minimal detectable change (MDC): 0.28 (6.36% of the mean)), 0.89 (MDC: 2.91 (20.37%)) and 0.73 (MDC: 1.61 (58.82%)), respectively. The ICCs for inter-rater reliability were 0.89 (MDC: 0.47 (10.53%)), 0.78 (MDC: 3.69 (25.51%)) and 0.70 (MDC: 1.75 (62.63%)), respectively.For colour scale ratings, intra-rater reliability (linear weighted kappa) ranged from 0.76 to 0.79, with the inter-rater reliability from 0.71 to 0.81. For the number of lesions, intra-rater reliability ranged from 0.40 to 0.82 and inter-rater reliability from 0.24 to 0.67.ConclusionsIntra-rater and inter-rater reliability were excellent for raw values and for ratios with deltoid muscle as the reference tissue, and good for ratios with gel pad as the reference tissue. The reliability of colour scale ratings was substantial-to-almost perfect, and for the number of lesions fair-to-almost perfect.Although high reliability was found, validity and responsiveness of these elastographic methods needs further investigation.Ethics approvalThe study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee for the Region of South Denmark (S-20160115) and reported to the Danish Data Protection Agency (2014-41-3266).

Project description:BACKGROUND:Previous studies have shown that ibuprofen is detrimental to tissue healing after acute injury; however, the effects of ibuprofen when combined with noninjurious exercise are debated. HYPOTHESIS:Administration of ibuprofen to rats undergoing a noninjurious treadmill exercise protocol will abolish the beneficial adaptations found with exercise but will have no effect on sedentary muscle and tendon properties. STUDY DESIGN:Controlled laboratory study. METHODS:A total of 167 male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into exercise or cage activity (sedentary) groups and acute (a single bout of exercise followed by 24 hours of rest) and chronic (2 or 8 weeks of repeated exercise) response times. Half of the rats were administered ibuprofen to investigate the effects of this drug over time when combined with different activity levels (exercise and sedentary). Supraspinatus tendons were used for mechanical testing and histologic assessment (organization, cell shape, cellularity), and supraspinatus muscles were used for morphologic (fiber cross-sectional area, centrally nucleated fibers) and fiber type analysis. RESULTS:Chronic intake of ibuprofen did not impair supraspinatus tendon organization or mechanical adaptations (stiffness, modulus, maximum load, maximum stress, dynamic modulus, or viscoelastic properties) to exercise. Tendon mechanical properties were not diminished and in some instances increased with ibuprofen. In contrast, total supraspinatus muscle fiber cross-sectional area decreased with ibuprofen at chronic response times, and some fiber type-specific changes were detected. CONCLUSION:Chronic administration of ibuprofen does not impair supraspinatus tendon mechanical properties in a rat model of exercise but does decrease supraspinatus muscle fiber cross-sectional area. This fundamental study adds to the growing literature on the effects of ibuprofen on musculoskeletal tissues and provides a solid foundation on which future work can build. CLINICAL RELEVANCE:The study findings suggest that ibuprofen does not detrimentally affect regulation of supraspinatus tendon adaptations to exercise but does decrease muscle growth. Individuals should be advised on the risk of decreased muscle hypertrophy when consuming ibuprofen.

Project description:Rotator cuff tears are common shoulder problems whose propagation is difficult to predict because of the structural and mechanical inhomogeneity of the supraspinatus tendon. We have previously shown that the supraspinatus and infraspinatus tendons interact mechanically when the supraspinatus tendon is intact or exhibits a full-thickness tear, so that an increase in supraspinatus tendon strain is paralleled by an increase in infraspinatus tendon strain. Such interaction is critical and suggests that an increase in infraspinatus tendon strain that accompanies an increase in supraspinatus tendon strain may shield the supraspinatus tendon from further injury, but increase the risk of injury to the infraspinatus tendon. In this study, the mechanical interactions between the supraspinatus and infraspinatus tendons were evaluated for the commonly occurring supraspinatus tendon partial-thickness tears through a range of rotation angles.For each joint rotation and supraspinatus tendon tear size evaluated, the supraspinatus tendon was loaded, and images corresponding to 5 N, 30 N, 60 N, and 90 N of supraspinatus tendon load were isolated for the speckle painted supraspinatus and infraspinatus tendons. A region of interest outlining the insertion site was isolated and displacements between the 5 N loaded image and each of the others were measured, from which normalized average principal strains were quantified in both tendons.The observed effect on infraspinatus tendon strain paralleled that observed on strain in the supraspinatus tendon. Introducing a supraspinatus tendon partial-thickness tear and increasing load caused an increase in normalized average maximum and a decrease in normalized average minimum principal strain in the infraspinatus tendon. Increasing rotation angle from internal to external rotation caused a general decrease in normalized average maximum and increase in normalized average minimum principal strain in both tendons.The supraspinatus and infraspinatus tendons mechanically interact for the intact and partially torn supraspinatus tendons for neutral and rotated glenohumeral joint.

Project description:OBJECTIVES:(1) To determine the association between patellar tendon stiffness and the presence of patellar tendinopathy (PT). (2) To evaluate the reliability of shear-wave elastography (SWE). METHODS:Participants were consecutively enrolled between January 2017 and June 2019. PT was diagnosed clinically and confirmed by either grayscale US or power Doppler US, or both. Controls had no history of anterior knee pain and no clinical signs of PT. Patellar tendon stiffness (kilopascal, kPa) was assessed using SWE. Logistic regression was used to estimate adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Reliability analyses included coefficients-of-variation (CV), coefficients-of-repeatability (CR), intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for intraobserver and interobserver reliability, and Bland-Altman analysis. RESULTS:In total, 76 participants with PT (58 men, mean age 24.4?±?3.8 years) and 35 asymptomatic controls (16 men, mean age 21.5?±?3.8 years) were included. Univariate analyses (OR 1.094, 95% CI 1.061-1.128, p?<?.001) and adjusted multivariate analyses (OR 1.294, 95% CI 1.044-1.605, p?=?.018) showed that athletes with PT had significantly increased patellar tendon stiffness. ICC for intraobserver reliability was 0.95 (95% CI 0.92-0.97), CR (CV) 12 kPa (10%) and 0.79 (95% CI 0.65-0.88), CR (CV) 18 kPa (21%) for interobserver reliability. Mean differences from Bland-Altman analysis were 5.6 kPa (95% CI 3.1-8.1, p?<?.001) for intraobserver reliability and 4.6 kPa (95% CI 1.9-7.2, p?<?.001) for interobserver reliability. CONCLUSIONS:PT is associated with significantly higher patellar tendon stiffness. SWE measurements demonstrate excellent intraobserver reliability and good interobserver reliability. Therefore, SWE is a promising tool to implement in longitudinal studies and future studies should evaluate its prognostic value and utility as a monitoring tool in athletes with PT. KEY POINTS:• Patellar tendon stiffness measured with shear-wave elastography (SWE) is higher in athletes with patellar tendinopathy than in healthy controls, also after adjusting for potential confounders. • Excellent intraobserver reliability and good interobserver reliability were found for the quantitative assessment of patellar tendon stiffness using SWE.

Dataset Information

Strain Elastography and Tendon Response to an Exercise Program in Patients With Supraspinatus Tendinopathy: An Exploratory Study.

Background

Purpose

Study design

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Clinical relevance

Registration

Publications

Strain Elastography and Tendon Response to an Exercise Program in Patients With Supraspinatus Tendinopathy: An Exploratory Study.

Similar Datasets

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