Stressing the Relevance of Differentiating between Systematic and Random Measurement Errors in Ultrasound Muscle Thickness Diagnostics

Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

Authors

Background: The majority of studies that explore changes in musculature following resistance training interventions or examine atrophy due to immobilization or sarcopenia use ultrasound imaging. While most studies assume acceptable to excellent reliability, there seems to be unawareness of the existing absolute measurement errors. As early as 1998, methodological research addressed a collective unawareness of the random measurement error and its practical indications. Referring to available methodological approaches, within this work, we point out the limited value of focusing on relative, correlation-based reliability indices for the interpretability in scientific research but also for clinical application by assessing 1,512 muscle thickness values from more than 400 ultrasound images. To account for intra- and inter-day repeatability, data were collected on two consecutive days within four testing sessions. Commonly-stated reliability values (ICC, CV, SEM and MDC) were calculated, while evidence-based agreement analyses were applied to provide the accompanied systematic and random measurement error. Results: While ICCs in the range of 0.832 to 0.998 are in accordance with the available literature, the mean absolute percentage error ranges from 1.34 to 20.38% and the mean systematic bias from 0.78 to 4.01 mm (all p ≤ 0.013), depending on the measurement time points chosen for data processing. Conclusions: In accordance with prior literature, a more cautious interpretation of relative reliability values should be based on included systematic and random absolute measurement scattering. Lastly, this paper discusses the rationale for including different measurement error statistics when determining the validity of pre-post changes, thus, accounting for the certainty of evidence.

Original languageEnglish
Article number89
JournalSports Medicine - Open
Volume10
Issue number1
Number of pages11
ISSN2199-1170
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 12.2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2024.

    Research areas

  • Expected effect, Mean absolute percentage error, Reliability, Training intervention studies, Ultrasound
  • Physical education and sports

Recently viewed

Publications

  1. Understanding Context Collapse for Social Media Users
  2. Self-perception of the internal audit function within the corporate governance system - Empirical evidence for the European Union
  3. Contextualizing certification and auditing
  4. Detection of significant tracer gases by means of polymer gas sensors
  5. Study of fuzzy controllers performance
  6. Vom „rights-based approach" zum "solution-based approach" in der WTO-Streitbeilegung?
  7. Model and Validation of the Electromagnetic Interference Produced by Power Transmission Lines in Robotic Systems
  8. Determinants and Outcomes of Dual Distribution:
  9. Deactivation and transformation products in biodegradability testing of ß-lactams amoxicillin and piperacillin
  10. Trainingsqualität durch Trainingsquantität?
  11. Fusion of knowledge bases for better navigation of wheeled mobile robotic group with 3D TVS
  12. EMA Links with Management Systems and Other Stakeholders
  13. Mechanical characterisation and modelling of electrospun materials for biomedical applications
  14. Host functional and phylogenetic composition rather than host diversity structure plant–herbivore networks
  15. Structure as Infrastructure: The Interrelation of Fiber and Construction
  16. Towards a Concept for Integrating IT Innovation Management into Business IT Management
  17. End-users’ perspective on digitalization
  18. The Economic Value of Clickstream Data From an Advertiser's Perspective
  19. Ähnlichkeit mit unähnlichen Mitteln
  20. Risk Aversion and Sorting into Public Sector Employment
  21. Nitrogen uptake by grassland communities
  22. Efficacy of a web-based intervention with and without guidance for employees with risky drinking
  23. Water quantity and quality in the Zerafshan river basin - only an upstream riparian problem?
  24. The effect of psychotherapy for depression on improvements in social functioning
  25. Motivation for the Continuation of Work
  26. Contrasting patterns of intraspecific trait variability in native and non-native plant species along an elevational gradient on Tenerife, Canary Islands
  27. Forest structure and heterogeneity increase diversity and alter composition of host–parasitoid networks
  28. A black box identification in frequency domain
  29. Unusual deactivation in the asymmetric hydrogenation of itaconic acid
  30. Understanding Similarities and Differences of Digital Health Platforms
  31. A Note on Pensions and Firm Performance
  32. Reference wages and turnover intentions
  33. A generalized α-level decomposition concept for numerical fuzzy calculus
  34. Das relationale Apriori Wiens / Das städtische Apriori des Relationalismus
  35. Development of tools to prevent food waste
  36. Genetically based differentiation in growth of multiple non-native plant species along a steep environmental gradient
  37. CETUS – a baseline approach to type extraction
  38. Study of non-linear systems