Affiliation:
1. Institute of Exercise Physiology and Rehabilitation Science, University
of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, United States
Abstract
AbstractSkeletal muscle is the largest organ system in the human body and plays critical
roles in athletic performance, mobility, and disease pathogenesis. Despite
growing recognition of its importance by major health organizations, significant
knowledge gaps remain regarding skeletal muscle health and its crosstalk with
nearly every physiological system. Relevant public health challenges like pain,
injury, obesity, and sarcopenia underscore the need to accurately assess
skeletal muscle health and function. Feasible, non-invasive techniques that
reliably evaluate metrics including muscle pain, dynamic structure,
contractility, circulatory function, body composition, and emerging biomarkers
are imperative to unraveling the complexities of skeletal muscle. Our concise
review highlights innovative or overlooked approaches for comprehensively
assessing skeletal muscle in vivo. We summarize recent advances in
leveraging dynamic ultrasound imaging, muscle echogenicity, tensiomyography,
blood flow restriction protocols, molecular techniques, body composition, and
pain assessments to gain novel insight into muscle physiology from cellular to
whole-body perspectives. Continued development of precise, non-invasive tools to
investigate skeletal muscle are critical in informing impactful discoveries in
exercise and rehabilitation science.