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Sonographic elastography for assessing changes in masseter muscle elasticity after low-level static contraction

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Abstract

Objectives

The purpose of this study was to clarify, by use of sonographic elastography, the changes in elasticity of the masseter muscle after low-level continuous contraction by healthy volunteers.

Methods

The reproducibility of the elasticity index (EI) was verified by using a scoring phantom for elastography. The EI of the masseter muscle was measured for 10 healthy volunteers before, immediately after, and 10 min after static contraction at 20 % of the maximum force for 10 min. The masseter muscle thicknesses were also measured at these times as a surrogate index of muscle edema.

Results

The reproducibility of the EI measurements was sufficient for clinical use. The elasticity expressed by the EI increased after low-level contraction compared with that before contraction and changed similarly to the thickness along the time course of the experiment.

Conclusions

Low-level static contraction increased the elasticity and thickness of the masseter muscle. A potential relationship may exist between elasticity and edematous change in the masseter muscle.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank all the volunteers for participating in this study. The authors also thank all of the radiologists and radiology technicians for their help with the examinations. This study was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research from The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) (C) (23592785).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Aichi-Gakuin University School of Dentistry, 2-11 Suemori-dori, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, 464-8651, Japan

    Akihiko Gotoh, Tatsuya Hasegawa & Kenichi Kurita

  2. Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Aichi-Gakuin University School of Dentistry, Nagoya, Japan

    Yoshiko Ariji, Miwa Nakayama, Yoshitaka Kise & Eiichiro Ariji

  3. Department of Oral Radiology, Asahi University School of Dentistry, Hozumi, Japan

    Masato Matsuoka & Akitoshi Katsumata

Authors
  1. Akihiko Gotoh
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  2. Yoshiko Ariji
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  3. Tatsuya Hasegawa
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  4. Miwa Nakayama
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  5. Yoshitaka Kise
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  7. Akitoshi Katsumata
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  8. Kenichi Kurita
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  9. Eiichiro Ariji
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Correspondence to Akihiko Gotoh.

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Gotoh, A., Ariji, Y., Hasegawa, T. et al. Sonographic elastography for assessing changes in masseter muscle elasticity after low-level static contraction. Oral Radiol 29, 140–145 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11282-012-0119-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11282-012-0119-8

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