Measurement Reliability of Gluteus Maxius Thickness using Ultrasound Transducer applied with the Consistent Inward Pressure

Measurement Reliability of Gluteus Maxius Thickness using Ultrasound Transducer applied with the Consistent Inward Pressure

Gluteus maximus is important for hip joint stabilization. Therefore, it is needed to measure accurate muscle thickness. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the measurement reliability of muscle thickness of gluteus maximus using ultrasound applied with different inward pressures of 0.5 kg, 1.0 ㎏ and no pressure control. Twenty healthy individuals were participated. The muscle thickness of gluteus maximus were measured by the ultrasound with different two examiners in a random order. The measurement values were calculated using the ICC with a 95% CI. The value for inter-rater reliability with 0.5㎏ inward pressures(ICC=0.80 [95%CI=0.67-0.82]), 1.0 ㎏(ICC=0.82 [95%CI=0.70-0.83]) was greater compared with no pressure control (ICC=0.55 [95%CI=0.31-0.69]). Also, the ICC of intra-rater reliability were not significantly different among 0.5 kg, 1.0 ㎏ and no pressure control. The results indicated that consistently controlled inward pressure might contribute to reliable results while the thickness of gluteus maximus is measured by two examiners in a clinical way.