{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,21]],"date-time":"2026-02-21T04:31:56Z","timestamp":1771648316441,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"18","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,9,13]],"date-time":"2021-09-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1631491200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>In children, the quality and muscle function are altered in many pathologic conditions, including temporomandibular disorders. Although several methods have been used to evaluate muscle tonus, none became a golden standard. Moreover, the masseter muscle characteristics in children have not been investigated to date. This study aimed to measure the stiffness of the masseter muscle using shear-wave elastography in healthy children. We enrolled 30 healthy children (mean age 10.87 \u00b1 3.38 years). The stiffness of masseter muscles was measured with shear wave elastography. Stiffness for the total sample was 6.37 \u00b1 0.77 kPa. A comparison of the measurements did not show significant differences between the right and the left masseter muscles (left\u20146.47 \u00b1 0.78 kPa; right\u20146.24 \u00b1 0.76 kPa; p = 0.3546). A significant difference was seen between boys and girls (boys\u20145.94 \u00b1 0.50 kPa; girls\u20146.63 \u00b1 0.80; p = 0.0006). Shear-wave elastography is a promising diagnostic tool. It may help to detect changes in the stiffness of the masseter muscle and draw attention to pathological processes within the jaw muscles. Directions for further research shall include determining stiffness values in pathological conditions and the impact of biological and functional factors on the stiffness of the masseter muscle.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph18189619","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,9,13]],"date-time":"2021-09-13T21:37:12Z","timestamp":1631569032000},"page":"9619","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":7,"title":["Stiffness of the Masseter Muscle in Children\u2014Establishing the Reference Values in the Pediatric Population Using Shear-Wave Elastography"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6559-3973","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Cyprian","family":"Olchowy","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Oral Surgery, Wroclaw Medical University, 50-425 Wroclaw, Poland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5601-7173","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Anna","family":"Olchowy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Experimental Dentistry, Wroclaw Medical University, 50-425 Wroclaw, Poland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Aleksander","family":"Pawlu\u015b","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of General Radiology, Provincial Specialist Hospital in Legnica, 59-220 Legnica, Poland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4953-7143","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mieszko","family":"Wi\u0119ckiewicz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Experimental Dentistry, Wroclaw Medical University, 50-425 Wroclaw, Poland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0759-8431","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Luca Maria","family":"Sconfienza","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Unit\u00e0 Operativa di Radiologia Diagnostica e Interventistica, IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Galeazzi, 20161 Milano, Italy"},{"name":"Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche per la Salute, Universit\u00e0 degli Studi di Milano, 20161 Milano, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,9,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"277","DOI":"10.1016\/j.spen.2011.10.010","article-title":"Congenital muscular dystrophies: A brief review","volume":"18","author":"Bertini","year":"2011","journal-title":"Semin. 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