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Published on: June 12, 2009
The reliability of the lateral step test
Annabelle King1, Mark Hancock, Joanne Munn
1School of Physiotherapy, University of Sydney, Lidcombe, New South Wales, Australia. annieking23@hotmail.com
Context:
Functional strength measures correlate more closely with functional performance than non-functional strength measures.
Objectives:
To determine the reliability of the lateral step test as a measure of maximal strength.
Design:
Intertester repeated measures.
Setting:
Research laboratory.
Participants:
Twenty four healthy, pain free subjects.
Intervention:
Two protocols (A and B) were evaluated. The protocols were identical except protocol B involved a three second pause. Participants performed a one repetition maximum (1RM) for each protocol on two occasions separated by one week.
Main Outcome Measures:
Step height (nearest cm) representing 1RM.
Results:
Both protocols demonstrated excellent reliability, protocol A: ICC = 0.94 (95% CI, 0.87 to 0.97), SEM = 1.47 cm. Protocol B: ICC= 0.94 (95% CI, 0.85 to 0.97). Percent close agreement within 2 cm was 83.3% for protocol A and 79.1% for protocol B.
Conclusion:
Both protocols demonstrated excellent inter-tester reliability as measures of functional lower limb strength.
