Ultrasonography of the Neck Splenius Capitis Muscle

PURPOSE: To evaluate the reproducibility of real-time ultrasonography as a method for measuring the size of the splenius capitis muscle (SPCM). MATERIAL AND METHODS: Ten right-handed women (non-athletes) aged 19-29 years were studied. Muscle cross-sectional area (CSA), anterior-posterior dimension (APD), and lateral dimension (LD) were measured bilaterally on 2 successive days, twice each day. RESULTS: The coefficient of variation (CV) of CSA was 2.7% between times, and 3.0% between days. No significant correlations were found between muscle CSA and the anthropometric variables (neck girth, height, weight, fat percentage and body mass index). A significant correlation between CSA and the multiple of the 2 linear dimensions (MLD = LD x APD) was found (r = 0.76, p = < 0.01). CSA of SPCM was larger on the dominant side (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The results suggest that real-time ultrasonography is a useful method for evaluating the size of the SPCM.