The reliability of 31P-MRS and NIRS measurements of spinal muscle function

J. Fulford, A. Liepa, A. R. Barker, J. Meakin (Corresponding Author)

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

While phosphorous magnetic resonance spectroscopy (31P-MRS) and near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) provide methods for measuring spinal muscle function non-invasively, their reliability is not established. The aim of this study was assess the reliability (ICC) and error magnitude (CV%) of measurements of muscle phosphocreatine (PCr), tissue oxygenation index (TOI) and muscle deoxyhaemoglobin (HHb) acquired during fatigue and in recovery after 24s of exercise in the lumbar muscles. 10 healthy participants (19-25 years, 5 male, 5 female) performed exercise that involved holding the upper body unsupported in slight extension until fatigue and then, after 30 min of rest, for repeated bursts of 24 s. ICCs indicated good to excellent reliability of baseline measures (TOI: 0.75) and of amplitude changes during fatigue (PCr: 0.73, TOI: 0.69, HHb: 0.80) and recovery (HHb: 0.96), and poor to fair reliability for time constants describing rates of change during fatigue (PCr: 0.11) and recovery (PCr: 0.31, HHb: 0.47). CV% indicated varying relative measurement error across baseline measures (TOI: 5%), amplitude changes during fatigue (PCr: 7%, TOI: 38%, HHb: 31%) and recovery (HHb: 31%), and in time constants for fatigue (PCr: 39%) and recovery (PCr: 20%, HHb: 37%). The results suggested that reliability would be sufficient for future studies on spinal muscle function, but that measurement error may be too large to evaluate individuals.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1078-1083
Number of pages6
JournalInternational Journal of Sports Medicine
Volume35
Issue number13
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 30 Jun 2014
Externally publishedYes

Keywords*

  • deoxyhaemoglobin
  • lumbar spine muscles
  • phosphocreatine
  • tissue oxygenation index

Field of Science*

  • 3.1 Basic medicine
  • 3.3 Health sciences

Publication Type*

  • 1.1. Scientific article indexed in Web of Science and/or Scopus database

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