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BACKGROUND: The investigation of soft tissue stiffness has garnered increasing interest due to its potential applications in detecting tissue conditions, monitoring therapy effects, and preventing sports injuries. This study utilized the MyotonPro as a reliable measurement device to assess muscle stiffness and muscle frequency in the vastus lateralis and medialis muscles of both the dominant and non-dominant legs. METHODS: Sixteen young, healthy subjects (seven males and nine females, age 25 ± 3.46 years) participated in this study. To induce maximal muscle fatigue, the vastus lateralis and vastus medialis muscles were subjected to a 30 kg load using a single-leg leg press. Pre- and post-fatigue measurements were conducted by two testers on the dominant and non-dominant legs, respectively, employing the MyotonPro. RESULTS: We revealed a significant increase in muscle stiffness after maximal muscle fatigue. Specifically, on the dominant side, the vastus lateralis exhibited a stiffness increase of 6.5%, while the vastus medialis showed a 6.3% increase. On the non-dominant side, the vastus lateralis demonstrated a 7.6% increase, and the vastus medialis exhibited a 6.7% increase in muscle stiffness. Furthermore, muscle frequency increased by 8.6% (vastus lateralis) and 13.5% (vastus medialis) on the dominant side and by 15.1% (vastus lateralis) and 6.3% (vastus medialis) on the non-dominant side. The reliability of the measurements varied, with Cronbach's alpha values ranging from inadequate 0.49 to very good 0.88. CONCLUSION: This study affirms the efficacy of the MyotonPro as a measurement device for assessing muscle stiffness and establishes its reliability. The observed increase in muscle stiffness after maximal muscle fatigue, accompanied by changes in muscle frequency, underscores the device's utility. However, further research is warranted to validate the reproducibility of these findings and explore additional facets of the muscular response to fatigue.
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BACKGROUND: The elements of previously designed questionnaires do not take into consideration the burdens encountered in an inpatient hospital setting. The purpose of this study is to validate elements of a non-compliance survey in an in-hospital setting and discuss aspects of compliance with telerehabilitative physiotherapy in the early postoperative period. METHODS: A literature search was conducted to identify elements that prevent patients from performing their prescribed physical therapy exercises. These items were then evaluated by the expert review technique as described by Ikart. Afterwards, the synthesized survey was handed out to patients for the assessment of the quality of its items. RESULTS: The results of the expert review technique identified some conceptual and grammatical problems. This led to the adjustment of some of the elements. The quality of the resulting questionnaire was deemed to be good, as patients were able to fully understand the concepts and answer accordingly. A statistical analysis was conducted to evaluate the responses. CONCLUSIONS: The items of this second questionnaire have proven to be reliable to assess the compliance of patients in an in-hospital setting. These items will be added to the cross-culturally adapted items of a previous questionnaire.
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BACKGROUND: Compliance with rehabilitative physiotherapeutic measures leads to an improvement in outcomes in patients suffering from a variety of musculoskeletal conditions. To date, a tool for assessing the parameters that lead to non-adherence to physical therapy does not exist in the German language. The objective of this paper is to cross-culturally adapt a non-compliance questionnaire to German. METHODS: In reference to the "Guidelines for the Process of Cross-Cultural Adaption of Self-Reported Measures", the questionnaire was translated into German followed by a back-translation into the original language. An expert committee met and refined the pre-final version. A preliminary version was handed out to patients for evaluation of the quality of the resulting German version. RESULTS: After the forward- and back-translation of the questionnaire, some discrepancies were discovered between the translators on the one hand and between the back-translations and the original document on the other. The statistical analysis showed satisfactory results regarding the quality of the questionnaire. CONCLUSION: The translation and adaption of the items proved to have a high degree of reliability. The German version will be made available for German-speaking researchers and used for evaluating a mobile-application-based physical therapy regimen by the authors of the paper.
