Validating the Speckle Tracking Methods on Soft Tissue Strain, Displacement, and Roles in Physical Therapy

Validating the Speckle Tracking Methods on Soft Tissue Strain, Displacement, and Roles in Physical Therapy: Ligaments (Sports), Tendons (Dysfunction), and Muscles (Exercise Intervention)

This three-year research project aims to test the hypothesis that strain and displacement characteristics of human soft tissues are influenced by (1) habitual physical activity, (2) functional impairment, and (3) training interventions. Over the three years, the ulnar collateral ligament of the elbow, the ankle tendon, and the hamstring muscles will be investigated sequentially. Ultrasound speckle-tracking techniques will be employed to verify these hypotheses and to provide a basis for clinical risk assessment of injury, development of therapeutic strategies, and evaluation of rehabilitation outcomes.

In the first year, strain and displacement of the medial ulnar collateral ligament (MUCL) in both longitudinal and transverse directions during passive isokinetic elbow valgus loading will be analyzed in baseball pitchers at high and low injury risk and in healthy controls. The results will be compared with ultrasonic shear-wave elastography. Participants will then undergo an 8-week low- to moderate-intensity blood-flow restriction resistance training program. This phase is expected to characterize ligament mechanical adaptations to long-term sports training, elucidate the relationship between such adaptations and injury risk, and evaluate the effects of resistance training on enhancing medial elbow joint stability.

In the second year, individuals with posterior tibial tendon dysfunction and healthy controls will be examined. Longitudinal strain and displacement, as well as transverse rotation and displacement of the tibialis posterior tendon during active ankle movements will be quantified and compared with shear-wave elastography measurements. These results are expected to clarify the relationship between tendon strain-displacement behavior and tendon dysfunction, provide mechanistic insights into tendon pathology, and inform optimal therapeutic strategies.

In the third year, patients following anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction will be investigated. Longitudinal strain and displacement of the hamstring graft donor site, specifically the semitendinosus muscle-tendon unit, following eccentric training will be assessed and compared with shear-wave elastography and electromyography. This phase is expected to characterize post-harvest semitendinosus muscle activity patterns and their associations with postoperative muscle strength deficits.

By integrating findings across the three phases, the anticipated clinical implications of this project include determining whether:

1. adaptive responses of ligaments to repetitive tensile loading during long-term sports participation (including strain behavior and mechanical properties) can serve as screening indicators for injury risk, and evaluating the effects of blood-flow restriction resistance training in these populations;
2. three-dimensional strain, displacement, and rotation of tendons in response to muscle contraction and joint motion are associated with tendon dysfunction; and
3. strain and displacement characteristics of the semitendinosus muscle (in relation to muscle recruitment) can be improved through postoperative functional training following its use as a graft source.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Tibialis Posterior Dysfunction; Ultrasound Evaluation; Ulnar Collateral Ligament Sprain; Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Rehabilitation
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: blood flow restriction training; Other: nordic exercise training

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 80
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Ming-Wei Wang, PhD candidate; Phone Number: +886 932939247; Email: d10428001@ntu.edu.tw

Study Locations

• Taiwan
  • Taipei, Taiwan, 100025
    • Recruiting
    • School and Graduate Institute of Physical Therapy, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University
    • Contact: Ming-Wei Wang, PhD candidate; Phone Number: +886 932939247; Email: d10428001@ntu.edu.tw

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Study 1

• male pitchers aged between 18 and 35 years
• more than five years of pitching experience
• at least 200 counts of pitching training per week

Study 2

• Age between 20 and 65 years
• diagnosed with grade II posterior tibial tendon dysfunction and recommended by a physician for surgical intervention

Study 3

• The participants were between 18 and 45 years old
• had undergone unilateral anterior cruciate ligament semitendinosus tendon autograft reconstruction surgery within the past 6 years
• were able to fully participate in the sports and training they had before their injury

Exclusion Criteria:

Study 1

• diagnosed with partial or full thickness tears of the UCL by arthrographic/ nonarthrographic MR techniques in past medical records
• having a positive result in the "moving valgus stress test" screening24
• unable to participate in regular baseball pitching training or absent from the competition during the March 2023 to March 2025 season
• found to show suspicious signs, such as hypoechoic foci and calcification, which suggest UCL injury under ultrasound screening4
• with a <80% compliance rate in the eight-week BFRT

Study 2

• The lower extremities have undergone surgical intervention
• The lower extremities have a known history of nerve or vascular injury
• The ankles and feet have known ligament tears
• Fixed deformities of the foot joints
• The patient has a known physical condition that would affect the conduct of the experiment

Study 3

• Having any orthopedic condition that prevents them from participating in the competition, such as arthritis or knee pain
• having a history of hamstring muscle strain in the knee within the past 3 months
• having an attendance rate of less than 80% in the subsequent eight weeks of training

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Study 1: male collegiate baseball pitchers; Study 3: ACLR patient; Study 1: Male collegiate baseball pitchers receiving 8 weeks of blood flow restriction training of their forearm flexor-pronator muscles Study 3: ACLR patient receiving 8 weeks of Nordic exercise training	Other: blood flow restriction training; The investigators anticipate providing blood flow restriction training to the forearm flexor-pronator muscles of male collegiate baseball pitchers in study 1.; Other: nordic exercise training; The investigators anticipate providing Nordic hamstring exercise training to ACLR patients in study 3.
No Intervention: Study 1: male collegiate baseball pitchers ; Study 2: TP dysfunction patient; Study 3: ACLR patient; Study 1: healthy male collegiate baseball pitchers control group; Study 2: TP dysfunction patient; Study 3: ACLR patient

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Study 1: regional strain	Regional strain of the ulnar collateral ligament conducted by ultrasound speckle tracking	From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks
Study 3: tendon displacement	Tendon displacement of the semitendinosus tendon was assessed using ultrasound speckle tracking	Day 1
Study 2: tendon torsion	Tendon torsion of the tibialis posterior was conducted by the speckle tracking analysis	Day 1

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Study 1: shear wave speed	Shear wave speed of the ulnar collateral ligament conducted by shear wave elastography	From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks
Study 3: shear wave speed	Shear wave speed of the semitendinosus tendon conducted by shear wave elastography	Day 1
Study 2: shear wave speed	Shear wave speed of the tibialis posterior tendon conducted by hear wave elastography	Day 1
Study 1: muscle strength	Muscle strength of the flexor-pronator muscles conducted by dynamometer	From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks
Study 3: muscle strength	Muscle strength of the semitendinosus muscle conducted by the dynamometer	Day 1
Stusy 2: muscle strength	Muscle strength of the tibialis posterior muscle conducted by the dynamometer	Day 1

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: National Taiwan University Hospital

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): March 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): March 1, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): March 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 9, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 16, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): March 20, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 20, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 16, 2026
• Last Verified: March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Musculoskeletal Diseases; Foot Diseases; Posterior Tibial Tendon Dysfunction; Therapeutics; Physical Therapy Modalities; Patient Care; Exercise Therapy; Rehabilitation; Aftercare; Continuity of Patient Care; Blood Flow Restriction Therapy
• Other Study ID Numbers: 202112174RINA

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No