Reliability of Myotonometric Measurement of Stiffness in Patients with Spinal Cord Injury

This study investigates the reliability of using a portable device called MyotonPRO to measure muscle and tendon stiffness in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI). Contractures (muscle tightening) are common after SCI, and accurately measuring stiffness is important for treatment. The MyotonPRO is a non-invasive device that applies short impulses to the tissue and measures the resulting oscillations to calculate stiffness. The study looks at how consistent the measurements are when taken by the same person (intraoperator reliability) and by different people (interoperator reliability). The researchers found that the MyotonPRO provides reliable measurements of stiffness in the gastrocnemius muscle and Achilles tendon in patients with SCI. This suggests that it can be a useful tool for clinicians to assess and monitor muscle stiffness in this population.

• 1
  The study found excellent intraoperator and interoperator reliability for stiffness measurements of the gastrocnemius muscle and Achilles tendon using the MyotonPRO in patients with SCI.
• 2
  Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) values for both intraoperator and interoperator reliability were above 0.87, indicating good to excellent reliability.
• 3
  The standard error of measurement (SEM) and minimal detectable change (MDC) values were relatively low, suggesting that the MyotonPRO measurements are precise and can detect meaningful changes in stiffness.