Abstract
Low back pain is a very topical subject within the physiotherapy profession, particularly since the publication of the Clinical Standards Advisory Group report in December 1994. The increasing cost and incidence of back pain means that many within the profession are reconsidering the management of this condition. One area of controversy in the debate on the management of back pain is the role of iso-machines. This paper reviews the literature relating to isomachines for trunk strength testing. Trunk strength has been shown to be significantly reduced in chronic low back pain sufferers. A list of isomachines commercially available is given. The reliability, validity and clinical utility of the trunk strength measures from iso-machines are discussed and the role of iso-machines in predicting trunk strength and determining maximum voluntary effort is considered. Iso-machines are valuable as a means of obtaining reliable, objective measures of trunk strength. There are, however, claims which have no scientific basis that they can be used to predict back pain and detect malingering.
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