Ultraschallgeschwindigkeitsmessungen an belastungstragenden und nicht-belastungstragenden Stellen des peripheren Skeletts

Abstract

Ultrasound transmission velocity at the appendicular skeleton is determined by elastic properties of the bone as mass density. We evaluated ultrasound transmission velocity at the os calcis of both feet and at the proximal phalanges of DII and DIII of both hands in 51 male subjects. 28 of them were professional soccer players of the 1st German division, 11 subjects performed non-professional exercise in various athletic organisations regularly and 12 did not exercise at all. A significant difference in the speed of sound could be seen at os calcis, where the soccer players had higher velocities than the other groups. The differences between the groups at the upper and lower extremities suggest that changes in ultrasound transmission velocity are not only affected by structural changes in the aging skeleton, as it might be suggested by age differences, but by exercise. Physical exercise can change the properties (structure and/or density) of weightbearing bone and this can be detected by measuring ultrasound velocity.