The use of B-mode ultrasound for measuring the thickness of skeletal muscle at two upper leg sites

Preliminary information regarding in the use of B-mode ultrasound for measuring the thickness of skeletal muscle on the anterior and posterior sides of the upper leg was evaluated. Subjects were volunteers, including 15 men and 15 women college students. The average weight of the men was 26% more than that of the women. On an absolute basis, men had larger muscle thicknesses including the anterior site (19%) and posterior site (10%). Correlation coefficients were no less than 0.99 for measurements repeated within 30 minutes for both men and women subjects at both upper leg sites. It was concluded that B-mode ultrasound can be used to reliably measure the thickness of skeletal muscle on the upper legs. The potential use of the protocols proposed in this study centers primarily on measuring morphological changes in skeletal muscle