Abstract
BackgroundPortable, low-cost, objective and reproducible assessment of muscle strength in the lower limbs is important as it allows clinicians to precisly track progression of patients undergoing rehabilitation. The Nintendo Wii Balance Board (WBB) is portable, inexpensive, durable, available worldwide, and may serve the above function.ObjectiveThe purpose of the study was to evaluate (1) reproducibility and (2) concurrent validity of the WBB for measuring isometric muscle strength in the lower limb.MethodsA custom hardware and software was developed to utilize the WBB for assessment of isometric muscle strength. Thirty older adults (69.0±4.2 years of age) were studied on two separate occasions on both the WBB and a stationary isometric dynamometer (SID). On each occasion, three recordings were obtained from each device. For the first recording, means and maximum values were used for further analysis. The test-retest reproducibility was examined using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), Standard Error of Measurement (SEM), and limits of agreement (LOA). Bland-Altman plots (BAP) and ICC’s were used to explore concurrent validity.ResultsNo systematic difference between test-retest was detected for the WBB. ICC within-device were between 0.90 and 0.96 and between-devices were from 0.80 to 0.84. SEM ranged for the WBB from 9.7 to 13.9%, and for the SID from 11.9 to 13.1%. LOA ranged for the WBB from 20.3 to 28.7% and for the SID from 24.2 to 26.6%. The BAP showed no relationship between the difference and the mean.ConclusionsA high relative and an acceptable absolute reproducibility combined with a good validity was found for the novel method using the WBB for measuring isometric lower limb strength in older adults. Further research using the WBB for assessing lower limb strength should be conducted in different study-populations.
Highlights
Portable, low-cost, objective and reproducible assessment of muscle strength in the lower limbs is important as it allows clinicians to precisly track progression of patients undergoing rehabilitation
Standard Error of Measurement (SEM) ranged for the Wii Balance Board (WBB) from 9.7 to 13.9%, and for the stationary isometric dynamometer (SID) from 11.9 to 13.1%
A high relative and an acceptable absolute reproducibility combined with a good validity was found for the novel method using the WBB for measuring isometric lower limb strength in older adults
Summary
A custom hardware and software was developed to utilize the WBB for assessment of isometric muscle strength. Thirty older adults (69.0±4.2 years of age) were studied on two separate occasions on both the WBB and a stationary isometric dynamometer (SID). Three recordings were obtained from each device. Means and maximum values were used for further analysis. The test-retest reproducibility was examined using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), Standard Error of Measurement (SEM), and limits of agreement (LOA). Bland-Altman plots (BAP) and ICC’s were used to explore concurrent validity. The reproducibility of the WBB was tested with an intra-rater inter-day design with seven days between the two test sessions. Concurrent validity was explored by comparing the WBB against a stationary isometric dynamometer ((SID)—Leg Force, Newtest, Finland).
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