Short- and long-term reproducibility of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging of lower extremity musculature in asymptomatic individuals and a comparison to individuals with spinal cord injury

This study uses diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI) to examine skeletal muscle. DW-MRI can show how water moves through soft tissues, which can help diagnose muscle conditions. The researchers measured the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) in lower limb muscles. They looked at how reliable and reproducible these measurements are, both in the short term and over a longer period. The study included healthy individuals and those with motor incomplete spinal cord injury. The goal was to create a reference for future DW-MRI studies of skeletal muscle.

• 1
  The intra- and inter-rater reliability of the ADC measurements were high, averaging 0.89 and 0.79, respectively.
• 2
  The least significant change (LSC) for short-term reproducibility was 4.50%, while for long-term reproducibility (9-month interval), it was 11.98%.
• 3
  Individuals with spinal cord injury showed significantly elevated ADC values in their muscles compared to those without neurological or musculoskeletal injury.