Ultrasound assessment of asymmetric hypertrophy
of the rectus abdominis muscle and prevalence of associated injury in
professional tennis players
Ramon Balius & Carles Pedret & Piero Galilea &
Fernando Idoate & Angel Ruiz-Cotorro
Skeletal Radiol
DOI
10.1007/s00256-012-1429-y
Abstract
Objective
To assess
rectus abdominis (RA) thickness and injury prevalence using ultrasound in a
group of professional tennis players. Observations with regard to muscle fiber
repair are described. We likewise studied the potential link between RA volume
asymmetry and the risk of muscle strain.
Materials and methods
The degree
of asymmetry between the different RA slices was assessed using ultrasound in
61 professional tennis players. The history of RA injury in these tennis
players was likewise studied, taking into account the following factors:
dominant vs non-dominant arm, history of RA strains, duration thereof and number
of recurrences. Ultrasound examination was performed with an 8- to 12-MHz
linear multi-frequency transducer.
Results
Ultrasound
revealed the presence of fibrous scar tissue in the RA muscle in 18 cases
(29.5%). In all instances, the lesion was located in the RA on the side of the
nondominant arm. In 16 of the cases, the lesion was infra-umbilical and L2 was
affected in two cases. The mean maximum width of the fibrous repair tissue was
9 mm (range 5–16). The mean distance between the umbilicus and the scar was 5.8
cm (range 2.9–11.4). Statistical study of the ultrasound measurements obtained
for the different slices revealed statistically significant differences between
the different depths and according to arm dominance.
Conclusions
In the
series studied, the prevalence of RA muscle lesion in professional tennis
players was 29.5%. Asymmetric hypertrophy of the RA muscle appears to constitute
a risk factor for suffering an injury in this location.
