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Updated: Apr 21, 2026
Contrast Enhanced Ultrasound Imaging for Assessment of Spinal Cord Blood Flow in Experimental Spinal Cord Injury
Published on: May 7, 2015
Ultrasonographic evaluation of sciatic nerves in patients with spinal cord injury
T Tiftik1, G T Öztürk1, M Kara1
1Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Ankara Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
Study Design:
Cross-sectional, controlled study.
Objective:
To evaluate the sciatic nerves of subjects with spinal cord injury (SCI) by using ultrasound (US) imaging and to explore whether US measurements are associated with clinical and electrophysiological findings.
Setting:
National Rehabilitation Center in Ankara, Turkey.
Methods:
Fifteen SCI subjects (12 male (M), 3 female (F)) and 23 (16 M, 7 F) healthy controls were included in the study. After clinical assessment of the subjects, lower limb nerve conduction studies and US imaging of the sciatic nerves were performed. Cross-sectional area (CSA) values of the sciatic nerves were correlated with the clinical and electrophysiologic data.
Results:
Mean CSA values were lower in the patient group when compared with the control group (P=0.042). Reduced compound motor action potentials regarding tibial and peroneal nerves were observed in the patient group (P=0.003 and P=0.005, respectively). US measurements did not correlate with the electrophysiological findings. However, sciatic nerve CSA values were positively correlated with body mass index in the control (r=0.534, P<0.05) and patient (r=0.482, P<0.05) groups.
Conclusion:
Sciatic nerves seem to be smaller in subjects with SCI. Together with our electrophysiological data, this preliminary finding could possibly be attributed to primary axonal loss.
