Abstract: Objective To investigate the reliability of the morphologic measure of the iliotibial band (ITB) with musculoskeletal ultrasound imaging. Methods 20 healthy young subjects were measured with the musculoskeletal ultrasound imaging of the thickness of bilateral ITB at the levels of the femoral condyle by 2 testers, and one of the testers measured again 3-5 days later. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and minimum detectable change (MDC) were calculated, and the thickness of ITB in both sides was compared. Results The ICC of test-retest was 0.89 (R) and 0.85 (L), and it was 0.82 (R) and 0.84 (L) of inter-testers. The MDC was 0.41-0.51 mm. There was no significant different between right and left sides for the ITB thickness among healthy subjects (P=0.97). Conclusion Musculoskeletal ultrasound imaging is a feasible and reliable to measure the ITB thickness among young healthy subjects.

Key words: musculoskeletal ultrasound imaging, iliotibial band, reliability, youth