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The validity of plantarflexor strength measures obtained through hand-held dynamometry measurements of force
Adam R Marmon1, Federico Pozzi1, Ali H Alnahdi2
1University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA.
Purpose/Background:
Hand-held dynamometers are commonly used to assess plantarflexor strength during rehabilitation. The purpose of this study was to determine the concurrent validity of measuring plantarflexion force using a hand-held dynamometer (HHD) as compared to an electromechanical dynamometer as the gold standard. The hypothesis was that plantarflexor forces obtained using a hand-held dynamometer would not show absolute agreement with a criterion standard.
Design:
Concurrent validity assessment for a diagnostic strength testing device.
Setting:
Institutional clinic and research laboratory.
Participants:
Volunteer sample of healthy university students (N=20, 10 women, 10 men; 25.9±4.1 years).
Main Outcome Measures:
Maximal plantarflexion strength was measured using both a HHD and an electromechanical dynamometer (EMD) as a criterion measure.
Results:
Plantarflexor force measures with the HHD were significantly different (p<0.01) and not correlated with plantarflexor forces measured using the EMD for either limb (R(2) ≤ 0.09).
Conclusions:
Plantarflexor strength measurements acquired using HHD are different from those acquired using an EMD and are likely influenced by the strength of the examiner.
Level Of Evidence:
Prospective cohort study, level II.
