Publications
Reliability of MyotonPRO in measuring the biomechanical properties of the quadriceps femoris muscle in people with different levels and types of motor preparation
Authors: Robert Trybulski 1, 2, Adrian Kuzdzal 3, Michal Wilk 4, Jakub Wieckowski 5, Krzysztof Fostiak 6, Jaroslaw Muracki 7
Affiliations:
- Medical Center Provita Zory, Zory, Poland
- Medical Department, Wojciech Korfanty Upper Silesian Academy, Katowice, Poland
- Institute of Health Sciences, College of Medical Sciences, University of Rzeszow, Rzeszow, Poland
- Institute of Sports Science, The Jerzy Kukuczka Academy of Physical Education, Katowice, Poland
- National Institute of Telecommunications, Warsaw, Poland
- Gdansk University of Physical Education and Sport, Gdansk, Poland
- Institute of Physical Culture Sciences, Department of Physical Culture and Health, University of Szczecin, Szczecin, Poland
Journal: Frontiers in Sports and Active Living - August 2024, Volume 6, Article no. 1453730 (DOI: 10.3389/fspor.2024.1453730)
-
Field & Applications:
- Sport
- Reliability
- Validity
- Myotonometry is a reliable and well validated tool to measure muscle biomechanical properties and can be used both in athletes and non training individuals.
- Myotonometry is a valuable tool in practice and scientific research in examining the influence of exercise, recovery and other interventions on biomechanical parameters of the muscles.
The aim of this research was to evaluate the reliability of the measurements of biomechanical parameters of the muscles of athletes representing different disciplines as well as untrained people.
Ninety-four young, healthy male individuals participated in the study and were divided into five subgroups: footballers (n = 25), volleyballers (n = 14), handballers (n = 19), MMA fighters (n = 16), and undrained group (n = 20). All of the participants underwent measurements of stiffness (S), muscle tone (T) and elasticity (E) by two independent measurers using MyotonPRO equipment. Analysis was conducted on two different parts of the quadriceps femoris: rectus femoris (RF) and vastus medialis (VM. Consequently, the comprehensive analysis comprised 564 measurements (94 participants * 3 parameters = 282 * 2 measurers = 564).
The results proves high reliability of the myotonometry (Pearson’s CC over 0.8208–0.8871 for different parameters, ICC from to 0.74 to 0.99 for different muscles and parameters) excluding only stiffness for the VM which was characterized with low ICC of 0.08 and relatively highest between the examined parameters MAE% of 8.7% which still remains low value. The most significant differences between the parameters in examined groups were observed between MMA fighters and volleyballers in terms of muscle tone and elasticity of the VM (correlation of 0.14842 and 0.15083 respecitively).
These results confirm the usability of myotonometry in measuring the biomechanical properties of the muscles in different sports groups and confirm the independence of the results obtained from the person performing the measurement.
Keywords: repeatability, muscle tension, stiffness, elasticity, sports medicine
Myotonometry seems to be an essential and reliable complementary tool in assessing the viscoelastic properties of the quadriceps femoris muscles in people with different levels of motor preparation. Overall, the results suggest that although some sport groups perform similarly on muscle measures, there are some apparent differences between the selected groups, particularly in flexibility and stiffness, which may reflect the specific demands and training regimens associated with each sport.