Is hand-held dynamometry useful for the measurement of quadriceps strength in older people? A comparison with gold standard Biodex dynamometry
Is hand-held dynamometry useful for the measurement of quadriceps strength in older people? A comparison with gold standard Biodex dynamometry
Background: The lower limb muscle strength is an important determinant of physical function in older people. However, measurement in clinical and epidemiological settings has been limited because of the requirement for large-scale equipment. A protocol using a novel, versatile hand-held dynamometer (HHD) has been developed to measure the quadriceps strength in a supine position.
Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the validity of this new methodology for measuring the lower limb muscle strength compared to the gold standard Biodex dynamometer.
Methods: The supine quadriceps strength was measured twice with each of the Biodex and the HHD in 20 men and women, aged 61-81 years, on their non-dominant leg. The agreement between the peak torques obtained by Biodex and HHD was analyzed.
Results: The mean peak Biodex and HHD results were 83.4 ± (SD) 28.0 Nm and 68.9 ± 19.6 Nm, respectively. The HHD undermeasured the quadriceps strength by an average of 14.5 Nm (95% CI 8.5, 20.6) compared to the Biodex, and this effect was most marked in the strongest participants. Nevertheless, there was a good correlation between the measures (r = 0.91, p < 0.0001). Classification of individuals into tertiles of muscle strength showed good agreement between the two methods (Κ = 0.69, p < 0.0001).
Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the HHD using a supine positioning offers a feasible, inexpensive, and portable test of quadriceps muscle strength for use in healthy older people. It underestimates the absolute quadriceps strength compared to the Biodex particularly in stronger people, but is a useful tool for ranking muscle strength of older people in epidemiological studies. It may also be of value for quick and objective assessment of physical function in the clinical setting.
function, aged, validity, muscle strength, leg, Hertfordshire, muscle, methods, men, women, classification
154-159
Martin, H.J.
34384528-4b85-41c3-95dc-16ade10aaf44
Yule, V.
df0d1fce-887e-4ed8-872d-f8f5086d6560
Syddall, H.E.
a0181a93-8fc3-4998-a996-7963f0128328
Dennison, E.M.
ee647287-edb4-4392-8361-e59fd505b1d1
Cooper, C.
e05f5612-b493-4273-9b71-9e0ce32bdad6
Aihie Sayer, A.
fb4c2053-6d51-4fc1-9489-c3cb431b0ffb
2006
Martin, H.J.
34384528-4b85-41c3-95dc-16ade10aaf44
Yule, V.
df0d1fce-887e-4ed8-872d-f8f5086d6560
Syddall, H.E.
a0181a93-8fc3-4998-a996-7963f0128328
Dennison, E.M.
ee647287-edb4-4392-8361-e59fd505b1d1
Cooper, C.
e05f5612-b493-4273-9b71-9e0ce32bdad6
Aihie Sayer, A.
fb4c2053-6d51-4fc1-9489-c3cb431b0ffb
Martin, H.J., Yule, V., Syddall, H.E., Dennison, E.M., Cooper, C. and Aihie Sayer, A.
(2006)
Is hand-held dynamometry useful for the measurement of quadriceps strength in older people? A comparison with gold standard Biodex dynamometry.
Gerontology, 52 (3), .
(doi:10.1159/000091824).
Abstract
Background: The lower limb muscle strength is an important determinant of physical function in older people. However, measurement in clinical and epidemiological settings has been limited because of the requirement for large-scale equipment. A protocol using a novel, versatile hand-held dynamometer (HHD) has been developed to measure the quadriceps strength in a supine position.
Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the validity of this new methodology for measuring the lower limb muscle strength compared to the gold standard Biodex dynamometer.
Methods: The supine quadriceps strength was measured twice with each of the Biodex and the HHD in 20 men and women, aged 61-81 years, on their non-dominant leg. The agreement between the peak torques obtained by Biodex and HHD was analyzed.
Results: The mean peak Biodex and HHD results were 83.4 ± (SD) 28.0 Nm and 68.9 ± 19.6 Nm, respectively. The HHD undermeasured the quadriceps strength by an average of 14.5 Nm (95% CI 8.5, 20.6) compared to the Biodex, and this effect was most marked in the strongest participants. Nevertheless, there was a good correlation between the measures (r = 0.91, p < 0.0001). Classification of individuals into tertiles of muscle strength showed good agreement between the two methods (Κ = 0.69, p < 0.0001).
Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the HHD using a supine positioning offers a feasible, inexpensive, and portable test of quadriceps muscle strength for use in healthy older people. It underestimates the absolute quadriceps strength compared to the Biodex particularly in stronger people, but is a useful tool for ranking muscle strength of older people in epidemiological studies. It may also be of value for quick and objective assessment of physical function in the clinical setting.
This record has no associated files available for download.
More information
Submitted date: 29 March 2005
Published date: 2006
Keywords:
function, aged, validity, muscle strength, leg, Hertfordshire, muscle, methods, men, women, classification
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 46511
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/46511
ISSN: 0304-324X
PURE UUID: 87059032-97fa-4937-84aa-03952102a26a
Catalogue record
Date deposited: 06 Jul 2007
Last modified: 18 Mar 2024 02:48
Export record
Altmetrics
Contributors
Author:
H.J. Martin
Author:
V. Yule
Author:
A. Aihie Sayer
Download statistics
Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.
View more statistics
