Validity and Reliability of a Hand-Held Dynamometer with Two Populations

Abstract

current positive trend is the integration of people with mental retardation into all as-,pects of our society. Persons with mental retardation are being encouraged to engage in sports, physical fitness, and recreational activities. Integration into society has taken place in all phases of living, including the seeking of medical treatment at local hospitals and sports medicine clinics.Evaluation of strength is an integral component in a rehabilitation o r conditioning program. Although isokinetic dynamometry has been used widely to quantify muscle performance, there are some inherent limitations, such as generalizability of scores from one type of isokinetic dynamometer to another (1 7), the cost of these dynamometers, the practicality of administering different tests from a temporal perspective, and the portability of isokinetic dynamometers. Alternatives for strength assessment in the clinical setting are manual muscle testing and hand-held dynamometry. A factor that may affect strength assessment of persons with mental retardation is their great variability in performing motor-oriented tasks (2).Hand-held dynamometric studies have been conducted on healthy subjects (3, 16), stroke patients (9). patients with brain damage (1 3), persons with orthopaedic impairments (1 2). and children with muscular dys- With the trend in our society toward mainstreaming persons with mental retardation, there i s a need to evaluate the efficacy of rehabilitation procedures for this population. The purpose of this study was to examine the validity and reliability of measurements determined with the Nicholas Manual Muscle Tester (MMT) and with the

Concurrent Validity by Comparing EMG Activity between Manual Muscle Testing, Handheld Dynamometer, and Stationary Dynamometer in Testing of Maximal Isometric Quadriceps Contraction

“…As anticipated, this study demonstrates that MMT and an HHD are appropriate for EMG normalization in the quadriceps muscle. Our findings are consistent with previous studies that have examined the concurrent validity of EMG activity and maximal muscle strength of the quadriceps muscle measured by MVIC methods such as MMT, HHD, and SD in healthy young adults, elderly people, and adults with mental retardation 4,[36][37][38] . In EMG study, Lin et al (2008) only compared the EMG activity measured by MMT and a Cybex dynamometer during maximal isometric quadriceps contraction.…”

“…The differences in the mean EMG amplitude ratio and the median frequency between MMT and Cybex testing were not statistically significant 4) . In terms of quadriceps strength, Surburg et al (1992) first examined the correlation between an HHD and Cybex II dynamometer in terms of isometric quadriceps strength using a stabilization technique with straps in adults with mental retardation (intelligence range based upon the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test: 36 to 69) and found that significant Pearson coefficients (r) ranged from 0.72 to 0.76 38) . Reed et al (1993) and Martin et al (2006) reported that the correlation between HHD and SD measurements for elderly adults was fair (r = 0.74) and high (r = 0.91), respectively 36,37) .…”

Comparison of three methods to assess muscular strength in individuals with spinal cord injury

“…Nonetheless, the correlations obtained in this study were similar to those reported by previous studies using both procedures in isometric mode. 20,23 Second, we also used dierent positions to evaluate certain muscle groups. For example, shoulder abductors and adductors were assessed in a 458 sitting position with Cybex while gravity was eliminated with the myometer.…”

The Relationship between Muscle Activity and Muscle Grade of the Trunk Flexors Using Manual Muscle Testing with Electromyography

“…Inadequate trunk muscle strength and endurance increase the risks of lower back pain, falls and dependence in daily living activities. Muscle strength tests provide very important information to help guide therapeutic interventions for patients with neurological and orthopedic disorders in the clinical setting [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] . Two tests are commonly used to clinically assess and monitor trunk flexor strength.…”