Abstract
To determine IFMs size and quality using US imaging following rehabilitation in patients with CAI.
Prospective cohort study.
University Laboratory.
26 patients with CAI (age:21.9 ± 3.5 yrs.; 18F, 8M) completed 8 clinician-supervised rehabilitation sessions over a 4-week period.
US imaging assessed IFM cross-sectional area (CSA) in seated and standing positions for both trained and untrained legs before and after the intervention. Muscle quality was evaluated using grey scale analysis for echogenicity.
Significant (P<0.01) increases in normalized CSA were observed for AbH and FDB in both seated and standing positions. Significant improvements (P<0.05) were also seen in the untrained leg during standing. No significant changes were found in seated positions or in echogenicity for AbH (P=0.26) and FDB (P=0.052) for the trained leg.
IFM CSA increased post-rehabilitation, with some cross-over effects in the untrained leg. There was a certain cross-over effect observed. The muscle quality measures didn`t change for the IFMs before and after rehabilitation. The IFMs strengthening should be included in CAI rehabilitation programs. There is a definite increase in size after rehabilitation. However, for quality changes there may be a need of longer rehabilitation programs.
•A 4-week rehabilitation program focused on impairments led to noticeable increases in the size of intrinsic foot muscles (IFM).•No meaningful changes were detected in muscle integrity or composition after the 4-week program.•Improvements in muscle quality may require a longer duration of therapy, as initial progress appears to emphasize growth and motor control adaptation.