Establishing a New Index of Muscle Cross-Sectional Area and its Relationship With Isometric Muscle Strength
- 1 January 2008
- journal article
- Published by Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health) in Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research
- Vol. 22 (1), 82-87
- https://doi.org/10.1519/jsc.0b013e31815ef675
Abstract
The present study aimed i) to establish an index of muscle cross-sectional area (CSA) based on muscle thickness and circumference through a comparison with muscle CSA determined by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and ii) to examine the relationships between muscle strength and the index determined at rest and during the maximal isometric contraction. The muscle CSA of elbow flexors at 60% of the upper arm length (CSA60) and the maximal CSA of elbow flexors (CSAmax) were measured using MRI in 26 men and 8 women. The muscle thickness (MT) of elbow flexors and the circumference (C) of upper arm at 60% of the upper arm length were measured using ultrasonography and anthropometry, respectively, in 29 men and 9 women. The measurements of MT and C were performed in the resting (MTr and Cr) and contracted condition (MTm and Cm), where the subjects performed maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) of isometric elbow joint flexion. The torque developed during MVC was converted into the muscle force (F) of elbow flexors. The MTr × Cr was significantly correlated both with CSA60 and CSAmax (P < 0.001). The F was significantly correlated with MTm × Cm (r = 0.847, P < 0.001) and MTr × Cr (r = 0.839, P < 0.001). However, stepwise multiple regression analysis selected only MTm × Cm as a significant contributor for estimating F. The present study indicates that MT × C reflects muscle CSA, and can be an index for assessing muscle CSA. In addition, the findings obtained here showed a possibility that MT × C during MVC is more closely related to F than that at rest.Keywords
This publication has 22 references indexed in Scilit:
- Measurement of muscle contraction with ultrasound imagingMuscle & Nerve, 2003
- Muscle volume is a major determinant of joint torque in humansActa Physiologica Scandinavica, 2001
- Design of a InP/In1−xGaxAsyP1−y/In0.53Ga0.47As emitter-base junction in a Pnp heterojunction bipolar transistor for increased hole injection efficiencyJournal of Applied Physics, 1999
- Cross-Sectional Areas of Fat and Muscle in Limbs During Growth and Middle AgeInternational Journal of Sports Medicine, 1994
- Prediction equations for body composition of Japanese adults by B‐mode ultrasoundAmerican Journal of Human Biology, 1994
- Ultrasound imaging of the quadriceps muscle in elderly athletes and untrained menMuscle & Nerve, 1991
- A Comparison of Anthropometry With Computed Tomography in Limbs of Young and Aged MenJournal of Gerontology, 1990
- Accuracy of an Anthropometric Estimate of the Muscle and Bone Area in a Transversal Cross-Section of the ArmInternational Journal of Sports Medicine, 1986
- Morphology of the brachial biceps muscle and elbow flexion in manActa Physiologica Scandinavica, 1983
- Muscle fibre type distribution, muscle cross‐sectional area and maximal voluntary strength in humansActa Physiologica Scandinavica, 1983