Absolute reliability of isokinetic knee flexion and extension measurements adopting a prone position

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to determine the absolute and relative reliability of isokinetic peak torque (PT), angle of peak torque (APT), average power (PW) and total work (TW) for knee flexion and extension during concentric and eccentric actions measured in a prone position at 60, 180 and 240° s(-1). A total of 50 recreational athletes completed the study. PT, APT, PW and TW for concentric and eccentric knee extension and flexion were recorded at three different angular velocities (60, 180 and 240° s(-1)) on three different occasions with a 72- to 96-h rest interval between consecutive testing sessions. Absolute reliability was examined through typical percentage error (CV(TE)), percentage change in the mean (ChM) and relative reliability with intraclass correlations (ICC(3,1)). For both the knee extensor and flexor muscle groups, all strength data (except APT during knee flexion movements) demonstrated moderate absolute reliability (ChM < 3%; ICCs > 0·70; and CV(TE) < 20%) independent of the knee movement (flexion and extension), type of muscle action (concentric and eccentric) and angular velocity (60, 180 and 240° s(-1)). Therefore, the current study suggests that the CV(TE) values reported for PT (8-20%), APT (8-18%) (only during knee extension movements), PW (14-20%) and TW (12-28%) may be acceptable to detect the large changes usually observed after rehabilitation programmes, but not acceptable to examine the effect of preventative training programmes in healthy individuals.

Reproducibility of isokinetic strength assessment of knee muscle actions in adult athletes: Torques and antagonist-agonist ratios derived at the same angle position

“…Carvalho et al [ 29 ] presented higher CV and lower ICCs for KEcc (%CV = 4.9–8.1; ICC = 0.89–0.95), KFcc (%CV = 3.9–16.5; ICC = 0.78–0.99), KEecc (%CV = 6.0–15.1; ICC = 0.74–0.95) and KFecc (%CV = 5.3–17.7; ICC = 0.72–0.97) using a closely related methodology of isokinetic testing in adolescent basketball players. At 60°·s -1 , Ayala et al [ 30 ] also presented higher CV and ICCs for KEcc (%CV = 16.45; ICC = 0.71), KFcc (%CV = 13.33; ICC = 0.78), KEecc (%CV = 17.09; ICC = 0.81) and KFecc (%CV = 8.99; ICC = 0.90) adopting a prone position.…”

Hamstrings load bearing in different contraction types and intensities: A shear-wave and B-mode ultrasonographic study

“…The dynamometer’s shin brace was placed posterior to the shank ~2 cm above the medial malleolus and the shank was tightly secured to the dynamometer lever arm. A range of motion (ROM) of 40° from full extension was set for all participants, as it corresponds to the knee joint angles during the late swing phase and it includes the knee flexors’ angle of peak torque (i.e., ~25–35° from full extension) [ 30 , 31 ]. This ROM was used in the CON and ECC conditions, while the crank angle was set at 30° from full extension for the ISO condition.…”

A Bayesian Network approach to study the relationships between several neuromuscular performance measures and dynamic postural control in futsal players

“…Finally, isokinetic concentric and eccentric torques during knee extension and flexion actions in both legs were determined (Biodex System-4, Biodex Corp., Shirley, NY, USA) following the methods employed by Ayala et al [34]. In each of the three trials at each velocity (60°/s and 180°/s for concentric muscle actions and 30°/ and 60°/s for eccentric muscle actions), the peak torque was reported as the single highest torque value achieved.…”