Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39512180›Full record

ArticleMuscle & nerve2025

The strength of associations between ultrasound measures of upper limb muscle morphology and isometric muscle strength: An exploratory study.

Christina Q Y Whang, Mathew I B Debenham, Emmanuel Ogalo, Hannah J Ro, Harvey Wu, Michael J Berger

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Article in Muscle & nerve, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Christina Q Y WhangInternational Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (ICORD), Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0005-4514-7086
Mathew I B DebenhamInternational Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (ICORD), Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Emmanuel OgaloInternational Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (ICORD), Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Hannah J RoInternational Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (ICORD), Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Harvey WuInternational Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (ICORD), Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Michael J BergerInternational Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (ICORD), Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

INTRODUCTION/

aimsAssessing upper limb muscle strength is important for understanding health outcomes, such as daily function and mortality. Ultrasound (US) is increasingly used to evaluate muscle health, but the relationship between its measures of morphology and isometric strength has not been thoroughly explored in upper limb muscles. The aim of this study was to evaluate the associations between US morphological measures and isometric strength in functionally relevant upper limb muscles in healthy adults.

methodsTwenty-four healthy volunteers (30.0 ± 10.8 years) underwent B-mode, axial US scans of the first dorsal interosseus (FDI), flexor pollicis longus (FPL), biceps brachii (BB), brachialis (BR), and triceps brachii lateral head (TB). Participants performed corresponding maximal voluntary contractions (MVC), including first digit distal phalanx flexion, second digit abduction, and elbow flexion and extension. US images were segmented to obtain maximal muscle thickness (MT) and cross-sectional area (CSA).

resultsStrong positive correlations were found between muscle strength and BB MT (r = .83; p < .001), BR CSA (r = .84; p < .001), and TB MT (r = .70; p < .001). Moderate positive correlations were found for strength and FDI CSA (r = .67; p < .001), FDI MT (r = .47; p < .05), FPL CSA (r = .54; p < .01), and FPL MT (r = .42; p < .05). No significant correlation was found between strength and BR MT (r = .16; p > .05). DISCUSSION: Our data showed moderate-to-strong associations between US muscle morphology and strength, suggesting that US is likely a good biomarker for strength. However, its use is not "one size fits all." Future investigations should continue to assess this relationship in different muscles and expand the generalizability to clinical populations.

Indexed as

Isometric ContractionMuscle, SkeletalMuscle StrengthUltrasonographyUpper ExtremityAdultFemaleHealthy VolunteersHumansMaleMiddle AgedYoung Adultdaily functionmaximal voluntary contractionmuscle morphologyultrasoundupper limb

Identifiers

PMID39512180
PMCPMC11632562

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