Abstract
The purpose of this study was to evaluate intra- and inter-session reliability of the new, portable, and externally fixated dynamometer called MuscleBoard® for assessing the strength of hip and lower limb muscles. Hip abduction, adduction, flexion, extension, internal and external rotation, knee extension, ankle plantarflexion, and Nordic hamstring exercise strength were measured in three sessions (three sets of three repetitions for each test) on 24 healthy and recreationally active participants. Average and maximal value of normalized peak torque (Nm/kg) from three repetitions in each set and agonist:antagonist ratios (%) were statistically analyzed; the coefficient of variation and intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC2,k) were calculated to assess absolute and relative reliability, respectively. Overall, the results display high to excellent intra- and inter-session reliability with low to acceptable within-individual variation for average and maximal peak torques in all bilateral strength tests, while the reliability of unilateral strength tests was moderate to good. Our findings indicate that using the MuscleBoard® dynamometer can be a reliable device for assessing and monitoring bilateral and certain unilateral hip and lower limb muscle strength, while some unilateral strength tests require some refinement and more extensive familiarization.
Highlights
Measurement of athletes’ hip and lower limb muscle strength is a common practice in amateur and professional sports
Isokinetic dynamometry is currently considered as the gold standard for assessing human muscle strength; its use is often limited to a laboratory setting as these devices are expensive and not portable
The results demonstrate high to excellent intraand inter-session reliability with low to acceptable within-individual variation for average and maximal peak torques in all bilateral strength tests
Summary
Measurement of athletes’ hip and lower limb muscle strength is a common practice in amateur and professional sports. Three main methods for measuring hip and lower limb muscle strength are being used in sports and clinical settings. Isokinetic dynamometry is currently considered as the gold standard for assessing human muscle strength; its use is often limited to a laboratory setting as these devices are expensive and not portable. Manual muscle testing is practical and a device-independent method; its reliability is questionable and depends to a large extent on the experience of the examiner [8]. Hand-held dynamometry is a valid, reliable, portable, and more accessible strength assessment method compared with isokinetic dynamometry [9]. Studies have shown that the validity and reliability of hand-held dynamometric measurements depend on external stabilization because measurement characteristics often rely on an examiner’s strength [10,11]. There is considerable variability in test procedures, with substantial effects of body position (supine, prone, side-lying, standing, sitting), stabilization methods (manually vs. non-elastic straps), and dynamometer placement (short vs. long lever arm) being reported [12]
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