Ultrasonographic measurement of transverse abdominis in stroke patients

To compare transverse abdominis (TrA) contractility in stroke patients with hemiparesis and healthy adults using musculoskeletal ultrasonography.

Forty-seven stroke patients with hemiparesis and 25 age-matched healthy control subjects participated in this study. Stroke patients were divided into three groups on the basis of their degree of ambulation. Group A consisted of 9 patients with wheelchair ambulation, group B of 23 patients with assisted ambulation, and group C of 15 patients with independent ambulation. Inter-rater reliability regarding ultrasonographic measurement of abdominal muscle thickness in the control group was assessed by two examiners. The TrA contraction ratio (TrA contracted thickness/TrA resting thickness) was measured during abdominal drawing-in maneuver and was compared between the patients and the control group and between the ambulation groups.

The inter-rater reliability ranged from 0.900 to 0.947. The TrA contraction ratio was higher in the non-paretic side than in the paretic side (1.40±0.62 vs. 1.14±0.35, p<0.01). The TrA contraction ratio of the patient group was lower in the non-paretic side as well as in the paretic side than that of the control group (right 1.85±0.29, left 1.92±0.42; p<0.001). No difference was found between the ambulation regarding the TrA contraction ratio.

The TrA contractility in hemiparetic stroke patients is significantly decreased in the non-paretic side as well as in the paretic side compared with that of healthy adults. Ultrasonographic measurement can be clinically used in the evaluation of deep abdominal muscles in stroke patients.