In general, the MST showed adequate criterion-related validity, test-retest and inter-rater reliabilities for the assessment of strength of the lower limb and trunk muscles in subjects with chronic stroke. For the majority of the assessed muscles, only one trial, after familiarization, provided adequate strength values.
Background Tests that are usually employed for the clinical assessment of muscular
strength have notable disadvantages. The Modified Sphygmomanometer Test
(MST) is a promising method because it is low-cost and provides objective
measures. Objectives To investigate the most adequate method and sources of outcome values for
the assessment of strength with the MST. Method Methodological study with 40 healthy adults (22.98±2.26 years), who did not
practice physical activity regularly. The strength of the flexors and
extensors of the elbow and knee, the handgrip of the dominant side and
anterior trunk flexors were randomly assessed with portable dynamometers and
the MST (bag and cuff adaptations, and sphygmomanometer without adaptation)
by a single examiner. An independent examiner read and recorded the values.
The sources of the investigated outcome values were the first trial and the
means of two and three trials. One-way ANOVAs and Pearson Correlation
Coefficients were used for the analyses (α=0.05). Results For the MST methods applied to assess all muscular groups, similar values
were found for all sources of outcome values
(0.01
Introduction: Weakness of the lower limb muscles, which are the main impairments after stroke, is associated with reduced mobility and decreased performance in functional tasks. Therefore, the assessment of strength of these muscles is necessary, which is commonly assessed with portable dynamometry. Aims: To perform a literature review regarding the methods used to assess lower limb strength with portable dynamometry in subjects with stroke and to describe its investigated measurement properties with this population. Materials and Methods: An extensive search was performed on the MEDLINE, SCIELO, LILACS, and PEDro databases, by combining specific key words, followed by active manual search by two independent researchers. Results and Discussion: Thirty studies were included, and the muscular groups of the knee (90%) were the most assessed, followed by the ankle (66.7%) and hip (63.3%) joints. In 5% of the studies, there were not reported any descriptions related to the positioning of the subjects and the equipment, neither regarding the stabilization procedures. Only 50% provided information regarding the number of trials and only 46.7% regarding the contraction times, being three trials and 5s the most commonly applied. Only 10% provided feedback and 23.3% demonstrations, prior to data collection. Only seven studies (23.3%) investigated the measurement properties of portable dynamometry and reported moderate to high reliability levels. Final Considerations: The protocols used for the assessment of the strength of the lower limb muscles with portable dynamometry in subjects with stroke were not standardized. Moreover, only one measurement property was investigated: the reliability, which was considered adequate.
The MST showed adequate measurement properties for the assessment of the strength of the upper limb muscles of subjects with chronic stroke. After familiarization a single trial provided adequate strength values.
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