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Medial gastrocnemius growth in children who are typically developing: Can changes in muscle volume and length be
Steven Obst1, Kaysie Florance1, Luke Heales2
1School of Health, Medical and Applied Sciences, Central Queensland University, Bundaberg, Queensland, Australia.
Insights
Age-predicted muscle growth in children significantly underestimates actual medial gastrocnemius (MG) muscle growth. Actual muscle volume and length were substantially greater than predicted, highlighting the need for personalized growth assessments.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric physiology
- Musculoskeletal development
- Biomedical engineering
Background:
- Muscle size is a key indicator of muscular fitness and overall health in children.
- Accurate assessment of muscle growth is crucial for monitoring pediatric development and health.
- Current methods for predicting muscle growth based on age may lack precision in young children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare actual muscle growth with age-predicted growth rates of the medial gastrocnemius (MG) muscle in young children over a 12-month period.
- To evaluate the accuracy of age-based linear regression models in predicting pediatric muscle development.
- To determine the discrepancy between predicted and actual muscle volume and length changes in children.
Main Methods:
- Utilized three-dimensional ultrasound to measure medial gastrocnemius (MG) muscle length and volume in 50 children.
- Established age-predicted muscle growth rates using least-squares linear regression based on initial measurements.
- Tracked actual MG muscle growth (volume and length) over 6 and 12 months in a subset of 20 children.
- Employed paired t-tests and Bland-Altman analysis to compare actual versus predicted growth.
Main Results:
- Age-predicted MG muscle growth significantly underestimated actual growth for both muscle volume and length at all measured timepoints.
- On average, actual muscle volume was 11.5% greater than age-predicted volume.
- On average, actual muscle length was 21.5% greater than age-predicted length.
- The study found significant discrepancies between predicted and actual pediatric muscle development.
Conclusions:
- Age alone is an insufficient predictor of future muscle size in young children.
- Current age-based growth prediction models may not accurately reflect individual pediatric muscle development.
- Further research into personalized methods for assessing pediatric muscle growth is warranted.
Abstract:
Muscle size is an important determinant of muscular fitness and health, and so it is important to have accurate estimates of actual muscle growth in children. This study compared actual versus age-predicted growth rates of the medial gastrocnemius (MG) muscle in young children over a 12-month period. Three-dimensional ultrasound was used to measure MG length and volume in 50 children (mean ± standard deviation [SD] age = 70.3 ± 29.9 months) to establish age-predicted muscle growth rates using a least-squares linear regression. Twenty children (mean ± SD age = 78.5 ± 27.2 months) were followed up at 6 and 12 months to establish actual muscle growth of MG volume and length. These data were then compared to their age-predicted muscle growth from the linear regression equation using paired t-tests and Bland-Altman limits of agreement method. Age-predicted MG growth significantly underestimated actual muscle growth for both volume and length at each timepoint. On average, actual muscle volume and length were 11.5% and 21.5% greater than the age-predicted volume and length respectively. Caution is warranted when predicting future muscle size in young children based solely on age.
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