{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,19]],"date-time":"2026-10-19T21:56:13Z","timestamp":1792446973044,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":33,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,13]],"date-time":"2025-03-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1741824000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Diagnostics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: The quadratus lumborum (QL) muscle is a key structure involved in patients with low back pain (LBP). Since the discriminative capability of morphological descriptors is uncertain and considering the high prevalence of myofascial trigger points and the poor reliability of manual palpation in this condition, developing a reliable procedure for assessing the QL\u2019s tenderness is needed for facilitating the diagnosis and monitoring changes over time. We aimed to analyze the intra- and inter-examiner reliability of SWE for calculating the QL tenderness in patients with LBP. Methods: Using a convex transducer, longitudinal shear wave elastography (SWE) images of the QL muscle were acquired bilaterally twice in 52 volunteers with moderate LBP and disability by one experienced examiner and one novel examiner to measure shear wave speed and Young\u2019s modulus as stiffness metrics. Results: Intra-examiner reliability estimates demonstrated high consistency independently of the examiner\u2019s experience (intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) &gt; 0.930) for both metrics. However, experienced examiners showed smaller minimal detectable changes. Additionally, inter-examiner reliability was lower, with ICCs ranging from 0.57 to 0.68, and significant differences in mean values between examiners (p &lt; 0.01) were found. Conclusions: This procedure exhibited excellent intra-examiner reliability for assessing QL muscle stiffness in patients suffering LBP, indicating high repeatability of measurements when performed by the same examiner. In addition, experienced examiners demonstrated greater sensitivity in detecting real changes not attributed to measurement errors. However, inter-examiner reliability was moderate, highlighting the need for consistent examiner use to avoid measurement variability and averaging multiple measurements to enhance the accuracy.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/diagnostics15060722","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,13]],"date-time":"2025-03-13T12:06:59Z","timestamp":1741867619000},"page":"722","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":8,"title":["Reliability of Shear Wave Elastography for Measuring the Elastic Properties of the Quadratus Lumborum Muscle"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1956-1903","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"M\u00f3nica","family":"L\u00f3pez-Redondo","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, 28223 Madrid, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3379-8392","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Juan Antonio","family":"Valera-Calero","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Radiology, Rehabilitation and Physiotherapy, Faculty of Nursery, Physiotherapy and Podiatry, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain"},{"name":"Grupo InPhysio, Instituto de Investigaci\u00f3n Sanitaria del Hospital Cl\u00ednico San Carlos (IdISSC), 28040 Madrid, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3574-7625","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Javier","family":"\u00c1lvarez-Gonz\u00e1lez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, 28223 Madrid, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0001-1950-2778","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alberto","family":"Rold\u00e1n-Ruiz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, 28223 Madrid, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6509-3322","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sandra","family":"S\u00e1nchez-Jorge","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, 28223 Madrid, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4522-8167","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jorge","family":"Buffet-Garc\u00eda","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, 28223 Madrid, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-8074-0545","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Germ\u00e1n","family":"Moncl\u00fas-D\u00edez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Radiology, Rehabilitation and Physiotherapy, Faculty of Nursery, Physiotherapy and Podiatry, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1467-4175","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Davinia","family":"Vicente-Campos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, 28223 Madrid, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"371","DOI":"10.1016\/S0021-9290(00)00202-5","article-title":"Architecture of the Rectus Abdominis, Quadratus Lumborum, and Erector Spinae","volume":"34","author":"Delp","year":"2001","journal-title":"J. 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