Reliability in One-Repetition Maximum Performance in People with Parkinson's Disease

Abstract

Strength training is an effective modality to improve muscular strength and functional performance in people with Parkinson's disease (PWP). One-repetition maximum (1-RM) is the gold standard assessment of strength; however, PWP suffer from day-to-day variations in symptom severity and performance characteristics, potentially adversely affecting the reliability of 1-RM performance. Herein, we assessed the reliability of 1-RM in PWP. Forty-six participants completed two sessions of 1-RM testing of knee extension, knee flexion, chest press, and biceps curl at least 72 hours apart. Significantly differences between testing sessions were identified for knee extension (P < 0.001), knee flexion (P = 0.042), and biceps curl (P = 0.001); however, high reliability (ICC > 0.90) was also identified between sessions. Interestingly, almost third of subjects failed to perform better on the second testing session. These findings suggest that 1-RM testing can be safely performed in PWP and that disease-related daily variability may influence 1-RM performance.

Test–Retest Reliability of the One-Repetition Maximum (1RM) Strength Assessment: a Systematic Review

“…After assessing the full texts, 37 additional studies were excluded as they did not meet the inclusion criteria. The study selection process, therefore, resulted in the inclusion of 32 studies in this review [ 16 , 18 , 21 – 50 ].

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“…Evidence on the reliability of the 1RM test in clinical populations is scarce, as our search revealed only two such studies. Buckley and Hass [ 16 ] included 46 individuals with Parkinson’s disease and explored the reliability of 1RM test assessment of four resistance training exercises. The authors reported ICC values ranging from 0.91 to 0.97.…”

“…The pooled number of participants from all included studies was 1595 (median = 35; range = 10-376). Most of the studies were conducted among apparently healthy individuals with two studies examining the reliability of the 1RM test in clinical populations (individuals with Parkinson's disease and older adults with chronic heart failure [16,29], respectively). Fourteen studies were conducted among individuals with some resistance training experience, while 22 studies included individuals without any previous resistance training experience (note that four studies included both groups).…”

“…The test–retest reliability of the 1RM test varies significantly across different studies [ 16 , 18 , 21 – 50 ]. For example, in one study [ 48 ], ICC was 0.64, while in another [ 26 ], it was 0.99.…”

“…In trained individuals, 1RM test is also commonly performed using the same exercises as in the training sessions, which might reduce the need for prior familiarization with the test. In addition to these advantages over isokinetic dynamometers, the 1RM test has been shown as safe across different populations, even among children, older adults, and clinical individuals [16][17][18]. Even though 1RM test can be time-consuming when strength is assessed in a large number of participants, many researchers consider it as the "gold standard" test of dynamic strength [15].…”