Exercise-related leg muscle signal changes: assessment using diffusion-weighted MRI.

We aimed to detect physiologic changes of leg muscle signal on magnetic resonance (MR) diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) in asymptomatic subjects after repetitive plantar flexion exercises. In this monocentric prospective study, DWI of both legs were performed at rest and after exercise periods (5 min, Ex: and 10 min, Ex) in 20 active healthy subjects (mean age 31 years). The exercise consisted in repetitive plantar flexion of the right foot using elastic band, the patient being sited directly on the MR table.