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Normative values for volume and fat content of the hip abductor muscles and their dependence on side, age and gender in a healthy population

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Abstract

Objective

To determine normative values for volume and fat content of the gluteus medius (GMed) and minimus (GMin) muscle in healthy volunteers and to evaluate their dependence on age, gender and leg dominance.

Materials and methods

The IRB approval was obtained for this study. 80 healthy volunteers (females, 40; males, 40; age range 20–62 years), divided into four age groups, were included. Fat- and water-signal-separated MR images of the pelvis were acquired on a 3.0 T MR with a 3-point mDIXON sequence. Normalized volume and fat-signal fraction (FSF) of the GMed (ViGMed, FSFGMed) and GMin (ViGMin, FSFGMin) muscles were determined.

Results

The overall mean volumes (normalized) and FSF ± SD: ViGMed 105.13 ± 16.30 cm3; ViGMin 30.24 ± 5.15 cm3; FSFGMed 8.13 ± 1.70 % and FSFGMin 9.89 ± 2.72 %. Comparing different age subgroups within each gender no significant differences were found concerning the volumes and FSFs (except FSFGMin in male subgroup aged 20–29 versus 50–62 years, P = 0.014). Comparing FSFs differences between the two genders, only in 20–29 years subgroup, FSFGMed (P =0.003) and FSFGMin (P =0.002) were greater in female. Volume differences between the two legs were not significant (P > 0.077); FSFGMed and FSFGMin (P =0.005 for both) were significantly lower in the dominant leg in female but not in male group (P = 0.454 for FSFGMed and P = 0.643 for FSFMin).

Conclusion

No age dependency was evident for volume normative data for GMed and GMin and normative data for FSF values showed no age- or gender dependency.

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Acknowledgements

We thank our physicist Dr. Roger Luechinger, PhD, for his technical support, Dr. Thi Dan Linh Nguyen-Kim for her indications concerning the analysis software, and our radiographers Nicole Aebi, Suzanne Potter and Simone Süess for performing the MR exams.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital Zurich, Ramistrasse 100, 8091, Zurich, Switzerland

    Magda Marcon, Nicole Berger, Andrei Manoliu, Michael A Fischer, Daniel Nanz, Gustav Andreisek & Erika J. Ulbrich

  2. Institute of Diagnostic Radiology, Department of Medical and Biological Sciences, University Hospital “Santa Maria della Misericordia”, P.le S. Maria della Misericordia, 33100, Udine, Italy

    Magda Marcon

Authors
  1. Magda Marcon
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  2. Nicole Berger
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  3. Andrei Manoliu
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  4. Michael A Fischer
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Magda Marcon.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Funding

This project is supported by the University Zürich Research Program “Research Time for clinical research at the Medical Faculty of University Zurich” (Grant number: RT-13-014).

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Origin of work

Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital Zurich, Ramistrasse 100, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland

Glossary

BMI

Body mass index

BIA

Bioelectrical impedance analysis

BIA1

Body fat percentage (%) measured by a BIA via the electrical body resistance with foot sensor pads on a similar device of bathroom scale (TANITA UM-018, Tanita Corp, Arlington Heights, Ill)

BIA2

Body fat percentage (%) measured by a BIA via the electrical body resistance with hand sensor pads on a handheld device (OMRON BF300, Omron Healthcare Ltd, Kyoto, Japan)

FSF

Fat signal fraction

FSFGMed

Fat signal fraction of the gluteus medius in %

FSFGMin

Fat signal fraction of the gluteus minimus in %

GMed

Gluteus medius

GMin

Gluteus minimus

MRI

Magnetic resonance imaging

ROI

Region of interest

VGMed

Volume of gluteus medius in liter

VGMin

Volume of gluteus minimus in liter

ViGMed

Normalized volume of gluteus medius calculated from VGMed/body height2 (10−3 L/m2)

ViGMin

Normalized volume of Gluteus minimus calculated from VGMin/body height2 (10−3 L/m2)

WHR

Waist to hip ratio

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Marcon, M., Berger, N., Manoliu, A. et al. Normative values for volume and fat content of the hip abductor muscles and their dependence on side, age and gender in a healthy population. Skeletal Radiol 45, 465–474 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00256-015-2325-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00256-015-2325-z

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