Reference Values of Flexion and Supination in the Elbow Joint of a Cohort without Shoulder Pathologies

After surgery of the long head of the biceps tendon, the examination of the biceps brachii muscle function and strength is common clinical practice. The muscle strength is usually compared with the uninjured contralateral side or with a matched pair group assuming that the uninjured side can be used as an appropriate reference.

The purpose of this study was to define reference values of the supination and flexion strength in the elbow joint and to investigate the influence of the arm positions and various anthropometric factors.

105 participants without any shoulder pathologies were enrolled. A full medical history was obtained and a physical examination was performed. The bilateral isometric testing included the supination torque in various forearm positions and elbow flexion strength with a custom engineered dynamometer. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to investigate the correlation of the strength and anthropometric factors.

Only age and gender were significant supination and flexion strength predictors of the elbow. Hence, it was possible to calculate a gender-specific regression line for each forearm position to predict the age-dependent supination torque. The supination strength was greatest with the arm in 90° elbow flexion and the upper arm in full pronation.