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An Investigation of the Immediate Effect of Static Stretching on the Morphology and Stiffness of Achilles Tendon in Dominant and Non-Dominant Legs

2016; Public Library of Science; Volume: 11; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1371/journal.pone.0154443

1932-6203

Tsz-chun Roxy Chiu, Hiu-ching Ngo, Lai-wa Lau, King-wah Leung, Man-him Lo, Ho-fai Yu, Michael Ying,

Foot and Ankle Surgery

This study was undertaken to investigate the immediate effect of static stretching on normal Achilles tendon morphology and stiffness, and the different effect on dominant and non-dominant legs; and to evaluate inter-operator and intra-operator reliability of using shear-wave elastography in measuring Achilles tendon stiffness.20 healthy subjects (13 males, 7 females) were included in the study. Thickness, cross-sectional area and stiffness of Achilles tendons in both legs were measured before and after 5-min static stretching using grey-scale ultrasound and shear-wave elastography. Inter-operator and intra-operator reliability of tendon stiffness measurements of six operators were evaluated.Result showed that there was no significant change in the thickness and cross-sectional area of Achilles tendon after static stretching in both dominant and non-dominant legs (p > 0.05). Tendon stiffness showed a significant increase in non-dominant leg (p < 0.05) but not in dominant leg (p > 0.05). The inter-operator reliability of shear-wave elastography measurements was 0.749 and the intra-operator reliability ranged from 0.751 to 0.941.Shear-wave elastography is a useful and non-invasive imaging tool to assess the immediate stiffness change of Achilles tendon in response to static stretching with high intra-operator and inter-operator reliability.