• Ming-Yen Hsiao, Yi-Ching Chen, Che-Yu Lin, Wen-Shian Chen, and Tyng-Guey Wang.
• Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, National Taiwan University Hospital Bei-Hu Branch and National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei City, Taiwan.
• Ultrasound Med Biol. 2015 Nov 1; 41 (11): 2899-905.

AbstractHow aging affects the elasticity of tendons has long been debated, partly because of the limited methods for in vivo evaluation, which differ vastly from those for in vitro animal studies. In this study, we tested the reliability of shear wave elastography (SWE) in the evaluation of patellar tendons and their change in elasticity with age. We recruited 62 healthy participants in three age groups: 20-30 years (group 1), 40-50 years (group 2) and 60-70 years (group 3). Shear wave velocity and elastic modulus were measured at the proximal, middle and distal areas of the patellar tendon. Reliability was excellent at the middle area and fair to good at both ends. Compared with the other groups, group 3 had significantly decreased elastic modulus and shear wave velocity values (p ≤ 0.001 vs. group 1 or 2), with significant increased side-to-side differences. SWE may be valuable in detecting aging tendons before visible abnormalities are observed on B-mode ultrasonography.Copyright © 2015 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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