Ultrasonography Comparison of Peroneus Muscle Cross-sectional Area in Subjects With or Without Lateral Ankle Sprains

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to quantify the cross-sectional area (CSA) of the peroneus brevis, the peroneus longus, and connective tissue; to compare these measures in participants with and without lateral ankle sprains (LAS); and to determine the intraexaminer reliability of the protocol used to acquire these measures.

Methods: A cross-sectional case-control study was undertaken. B-mode ultrasound imaging was performed to measure the resting CSA and circular perimeter of the muscles and connective tissue and the total area and ratio between the CSA of the peroneus longus and the peroneus brevis. The imaging was performed for 56 feet, 28 with LAS and 28 without LAS (the mean numbers ± SD of total LAS, grade-I LAS and grade-II LAS were 4.1 ± 3.6, 2.71 ± 3.2, and 1.39 ± 0.9, respectively). A univariate correlation analysis using Pearson (r) and the Kendall tau_b (τ_B) coefficients was performed to evaluate the ultrasound imaging measurements (α = 0.05).

Results: Statistically significant differences (P < .05) were observed between the 2 groups, with a moderate negative correlation for the circular perimeter of the peroneus longus (P = .001; r = -0.444) and a weak association for the CSA of the peroneus longus (P = .002; τ_B = - 0.349), the ratio between the CSA of the peroneus longus and the peroneus brevis (P = .008; τ_B = -0.293), and the circular perimeter of connective tissue (P = .013; τ_B = -0.277).

Conclusions: The peroneus longus CSA is reduced in participants with LAS compared with that in participants without LAS. The intraexaminer reliability of the ultrasonography protocol was excellent when quantifying the peroneus brevis and the peroneus longus muscle tissues and acceptable when quantifying connective tissue.

Keywords: Anatomy, Cross-sectional; Ankle Injuries; Lateral Ligament, Ankle; Physical Therapy Modalities; Ultrasonography.