Abstract
Objectives
Describe inter-rater reliability of, and correlations between a novel method of isometric
knee extension and flexion and eccentric knee flexion strength using hand-held dynamometry
and isokinetic testing for flexion/extension in the knees of athletic participants.
Document strength data normalized to the individual's limb muscle mass.
Design
Observational and reliability study.
Methods
Inter-rater reliability for each of the hand-held dynamometry measures was established
in both legs of 10 volunteers (6 male). During routine annual screening, 216 male
professional football (soccer) players were examined using these same measures in
addition to performing an isokinetic evaluation of knee flexion and extension strength.
Intra-class correlation coefficients for inter-rater reliability, Pearson r correlations between hand-held dynamometry and isokinetic dynamometry were calculated.
Peak torque, peak torque normalized to: body weight; lean body mass; and lean limb
mass were documented.
Results
Excellent inter-rater reliability was demonstrated with intra-class correlation(2,1) values of 0.90, 0.91, and 0.96, for the eccentric hamstrings, isometric hamstrings,
and isometric quadriceps measures respectively. Medium to high correlations (r = 0.322–0.617) which were all significant (p < 0.001) were found for the comparisons between the hand-held dynamometry and isokinetic
measures.
Conclusions
We present 3 novel and reliable methods of examining knee flexion and extension strength
using hand-held dynamometry which require less skill and strength on the part of the
examiner than previous measures. Correlations between these measures and isokinetic
dynamometry are documented. The hand-held dynamometry examinations took less than
4 min per player to conduct and may be useful in clinical practice where isokinetic
examination can be difficult to implement.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: March 16, 2012
Accepted:
January 18,
2012
Received in revised form:
January 4,
2012
Received:
December 4,
2011
Identification
Copyright
© 2012 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
