Correlation between Anthropometric and Ultrasound Measurement for Dry Needling of The Iliocostalis Lumborum Muscle with a Safety Protocol: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
Introduction: the management of musculoskeletal pain through the application of dry needling (DN) is effective. The application of this technique can carry very infrequent major risks on muscles, such as on the iliocostalis lumborum due to its proximity to the kidney and the peritoneum. It is important to establish a DN protocol based on the different anthropometric variables of the subjects. Main objective: the main objective of this study was to investigate the correlation between different anthropometric variables and the skin-kidney and skin-peritoneum distances to establish the size of the needle that could perform DN in the iliocostalis lumborum muscle without risk. Design: a cross-se…
Architectural Ultrasound Pennation Angle Measurement of Lumbar Multifidus Muscles: A Reliability Study
The pennation angle has been shown to be a relevant parameter of muscle architecture. This parameter has not previously been measured in the lumbar multifidus musculature, and it is for this reason that it has been considered of great interest to establish an assessment protocol to generate new lines of research in the future. Objective: The objective of this study was to establish a protocol for measuring the pennation angle of the multifidus muscles, with a study of intra-rater and interrater reliability values. Design: This was a reliability study following the recommendations of the Guidelines for Reporting Reliability and Agreement Studies (GRRAS). Setting: The study was carried out at…
The influence of a depressed scapular alignment on upper limb neural tissue mechanosensitivity and local pressure pain sensitivity
A depressed scapular alignment could lead to prolonged and repetitive stress or compression of the brachial plexus, resulting in sensitization of neural tissue. However, no study has investigated the influence of alignment of the scapulae on sensitization of upper limb neural tissue in otherwise asymptomatic people. In this case-control study, we investigate the influence of a depressed scapular alignment on mechanosensitivity of the upper limb peripheral nervous system as well as pressure pain thresholds (PPT). Asymptomatic individuals with neutral vertical scapular alignment (n = 25) or depressed scapular alignment (n = 25) participated. We measured the upper limb neurodynamic test (ULNT1…