• Alessandro Schneebeli, Michele Egloff, Amelia Giampietro, Ron Clijsen, and Marco Barbero.
• Department of Health Sciences, University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland, SUPSI, Switzerland. Electronic address: alessandro.schneebeli@supsi.ch.
• J Bodyw Mov Ther. 2014 Apr 1;18(2):266-72.

ObjectiveTo examine intra- and interrater reliability of thickness and cross-sectional area (CSA) measurements of the supraspinatus muscle using rehabilitative ultrasound imaging (RUSI).MethodsTwo physical therapists acquired b-mode images of the supraspinatus muscles in twenty-five healthy subjects. Thickness and CSA were measured. Intra- and interrater reliability were examined.ResultsIntrarater reliability for thickness was high, (ICC1.1 0.91) for rater 1 and (ICC1.1 0.92) for rater 2. Intrarater reliability for CSA was also high, (ICC1.1 0.90) for rater 1 and (ICC1.1 0.85) for rater 2. Interrater reliability for the thickness was high, (ICC3.1 0.86). For CSA, interrater reliability was moderate, (ICC3.1 0.70).ConclusionSupraspinatus muscle thickness and CSA can be reliably measured by physical therapists in healthy subjects. These findings confirm that RUSI has an interesting potential for physiotherapy clinical practice, especially to assess morphometric changes in skeletal muscles. Further research is needed in subjects with shoulder disorders.Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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