ArticleJournal of foot and ankle research2013
Reliability of ultrasound to measure morphology of the toe flexor muscles.
Article in Journal of foot and ankle research, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
30 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 115 citations in OpenAlex.
- Associations Between Diabetic Foot Deformity and the Intrinsic Foot Muscles: A Systematic Review.Journal of foot and ankle research · 2025Pooled it
- The reliability and validity of ultrasound to quantify muscles in older adults: a systematic review.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2017Pooled it
- Trial
- Effects of Rehabilitative Exercise and Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation on Muscle Morphology and Dynamic Balance in Individuals with Chronic Ankle Instability.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2024Trial
- The role of morphology and function of intrinsic foot muscles in young handball players with chronic ankle instability.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2026Article
- Hidden Adaptations: Ultrasound Evidence of Intrinsic Foot and Tendon Changes in Basketball Players with Hallux Limitus.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Quantitative ultrasonography of the foot muscles: a comprehensive perspective on reliability.Quantitative imaging in medicine and surgery · 2025Article
- Relationship of Physical Factors to the Acceptability and Unacceptability of Short Foot Exercise: A Preliminary Study.Progress in rehabilitation medicine · 2025Article
- Test-retest Reliability of Biomechanical Measures and Clinical Pain Outcomes in Runners with Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome (MTSS).International journal of sports physical therapy · 2025Article
- The effects of intrinsic foot muscle strengthening interventions for adults over age 65: a randomized controlled trial protocol.Frontiers in aging · 2025Article
- A Literature Review of the Morphological Variability in the Intrinsic Muscles of the Foot: Traps Awaiting Clinicians during Ultrasound.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Review
- Age-Related Reduction of Foot Intrinsic Muscle Function and the Relationship with Postural Stability in Old Adults.Clinical interventions in aging · 2024Article
- Current evidence regarding 2D ultrasonography monitoring of intrinsic foot muscle properties: A systematic review.Heliyon · 2023Review
- Activation Capacity of the Intrinsic Musculature of the Foot in Handball Athletes with Chronic Ankle Instability.Biomedicines · 2023Article
- Validity of ultrasound imaging for intrinsic foot muscle cross-sectional area measurements demonstrated by strong agreement with MRI.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2022Article
- Intra-assessor reliability and measurement error of ultrasound measures for foot muscle morphology in older adults using a tablet-based ultrasound machine.Journal of foot and ankle research · 2022Article
- Ultrasonic evaluation of muscle functional recovery following free functioning gracilis transfer, a preliminary study.European journal of medical research · 2021Article
- Foot exercise plus education versus wait and see for the treatment of plantar heel pain (FEET trial): a protocol for a feasibility study.Journal of foot and ankle research · 2020Article
- Does Function Determine the Structure? Changes in Flexor Hallucis Longus Muscle and the Associated Performance Related to Dance Modality: A Cross-Sectional Study.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2020Article
- Comparison of foot kinematics and the morphology of intrinsic musculature of the foot using a foot-type classification based on function.Journal of physical therapy science · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMeasuring the strength of individual foot muscles is very challenging; however, measuring muscle morphology has been shown to be associated with strength. A reliable method of assessing foot muscle atrophy and hypertrophy would therefore be beneficial to researchers and clinicians. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the test-retest intra-observer reliability of ultrasound to measure the morphology of the primary toe flexor muscles.
methodThe abductor hallucis, flexor hallucis brevis, flexor digitorum brevis, quadratus plantae and abductor digiti minimi muscles in the foot, and the flexor digitorum longus and flexor hallucis longus muscles in the shank were assessed in five males and five females (mean age = 32.1 ± 10.1 years). Muscles were imaged using a GE Venue 40 ultrasound (6-9 or 7.6-10.7 MHz transducer) in a random order, and on two occasions 1-6 days apart. Muscle thickness and cross-sectional area were measured using Image J software with the assessor blinded to muscle and day of scan. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and limits of agreement were calculated to assess day-to-day repeatability of the measurements.
resultsThe method was found to have good reliability (ICC = 0.89-0.99) with limits of agreement between 8-28% of the relative muscle size.
conclusionThe protocol described in this paper showed that ultrasound is a reliable method to measure morphology of the toe flexor muscles. The portability and advantages of ultrasound make it a useful tool for clinical and research settings.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.