•  
  •  
 

Abstract

Topics in Exercise Science and Kinesiology Volume 6: Issue 1, Article 11, 2025. Biometric Muscle size and echo intensity are thought to influence muscle function. Unfortunately, previous works often will examine a single muscle from a group of agonists as a metric of whole muscle performance. This approach may not always be the most appropriate to assess performance outcomes. The purpose of the study was to 1) quantify the association of muscle size and echo intensity with vertical jump performance (VJ), 2) Compare the associations between individual and whole muscle group size and echo intensity, 3) determine whether single or whole muscle size and echo intensity better predicted VJ performance. Nineteen adults (214 years) completed one visit to the laboratory for musculoskeletal imaging and vertical jump testing. B-mode ultrasound images of the vastus lateralis, vastus intermedius, vastus medialis, and rectus femoris muscles were acquired; CSA and echo intensity were quantified via offline analysis. Pearson’s product moment correlation coefficients (r) were calculated to determine association between individual and whole muscle size and echo intensity with VJ performance. Steiger’s z procedures were used to examine differences in correlations between individual muscles and total quadricep relationships to VJ. Follow-up stepwise multiple linear regressions were used to predict the individual and whole muscle association with VJ performance. The results suggested that muscle size but not echo intensity, may be associated with VJ. Steiger’s z procedures did not reveal differences in quadricep and individual muscle CSA with VJ performance. Furthermore, the CSA of the vasti musculature, but not the RF, had a meaningful impact on VJ.

Download


Share

COinS