Article

The purpose of the current study was to examine the reproducibility of patellar
tendon elongation measurements using brightness-mode ultrasonography (BMU) during
isometric knee extension contractions. We hypothesized that the measurement of
the patellar tendon elongation during only one maximal voluntary isometric knee
extension contractions would not provide reliable results and that a wide number
of trials is required to achieve acceptable reliability. Ten participants (eight
male and two female) performed 10 isometric knee extension contractions on two
separate days (5 trials on each day). Using a modified knee brace, the ultrasound
probe was firmly adjusted in the sagittal plane overlying the patellar tendon.
The registered ultrasound images were analyzed by three different but equally
trained observers. The reproducibility was examined by the calculation of the
within-day, between-day and overall coefficient of multiple correlations (wCMC,
bCMC and oCMC). The Spearman-Brown prophecy formula was use to estimate the
required trials to achieve the desired reliability. The wCMC, bCMC and oCMC were
in average 0.824, 0.798 and 0.770, respectively, suggesting a rather moderate
reproducibility of patellar tendon elongation measurements. For a high
reliability (>/=0.95) of tendon elongation measurements 5-6 trials are required.
Finally, the results revealed an independence of the measurements from days and
observers.
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Langue : ANGLAIS