PTOtherJournal of physical therapy science2017

The effects of ratio in the multifidus muscle thickness according to various angle of mediolateral ramp during double stance.

Sang-Yeol Lee

PMID 28931997

WHAT IT FOUND

Healthy young men standing on a mediolateral ramp showed left/right multifidus muscle thickness differences at 10°, 15°, and 20°.

At 5° the left/right difference was similar to flat ground. This was a small standing study, not a treatment test.

Key findings

01The left/right multifidus thickness ratio changed across mediolateral ramp angles.

02The 5° mediolateral ramp ratio was not significantly different from the flat ramp ratio.

03The 10° ramp ratio was significantly different from the 0° and 5° ramps, and the 15° and 20° ramps showed significant imbalance compared with lower angles.

STILL TO COME

How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs

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What it does not show

The study included only 15 healthy adult males in their 20s, so the authors state the results may not be safely generalized. The measurements were taken during standing, not during gait, because the deep muscle measuring equipment could not be used during movement, so they do not show what happens while walking. The sample was restricted to right sided adults with BMI 18.5 to 24.9, so people with different handedness or body composition were not represented. The study reports group means and standard deviations for muscle thickness ratios, not individual patient scores.

The easy way to misread this

Do not read the 10° result as proof that mediolateral ramps cause falls or harm in patients. The study measured only 15 healthy young men standing on ramps, not walking, and the authors state the results may not be safely generalized.

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