Reliability of Isometric Knee Extension Muscle Strength Measurements of Healthy Elderly Subjects Made with a Hand-held Dynamometer and a Belt

• Published in: Journal of Physical Therapy Science Vol. 26; no. 12; pp. 1855 - 1859
• Main Authors: Katoh, Munenori, Isozaki, Koji
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan The Society of Physical Therapy Science 01.12.2014
• Subjects: Hand-held dynamometer; Healthy elderly subjects; Knee extension muscle strength; Original; Hand-held dynamometer; Knee extension muscle strength; Healthy elderly subjects
• ISSN: 0915-5287; 2187-5626
• DOI: 10.1589/jpts.26.1855

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to examine the reliability of three isometric knee extension strength measurements (IKE) made with a hand-held dynamometer (HHD) and a belt of healthy elderly living in the community as subjects. [Subjects] The subject cohort consisted of 186 healthy elderly people, aged 65 to 79 years, living in local communities. [Methods] IKE of the leg subjects used to kick a ball was measured. IKE of each subject was measured three times using an HHD-belt at intervals of 30 seconds. The reliability of the larger of the first two measurements (LV2) as well as the third measurement (3V) was investigated. [Results] The intraclass correlation coefficients [ICC (1, 1)] for LV2 and 3V were 0.955. Bland-Altman analysis showed a fixed bias, and the limits of agreement ranged from −5.6 to 4.6. [Conclusion] The ICC results show that the test-retest reproducibility of IKE measurements of healthy elderly subjects using an HHD-belt is high. However, Bland-Altman analysis showed a fixed bias, suggesting the need for three measurements.