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Strapped for Strength: A Comparison Study of Dynamometry Techniques to Evaluate Knee Extensor Strength in Inclusion
Katie Schütze1,2,3, Ian Cooper3,4, Brook Galna4,5,6
1School of Medicine, The University of Notre Dame Australia, Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia.
Muscle & Nerve
|April 3, 2025
Summary
Strap-stabilized handheld dynamometry (SSHD) shows improved agreement with isokinetic dynamometry for measuring knee extensor strength in inclusion body myositis (IBM) patients compared to operator-stabilized handheld dynamometry (OSHD). This offers a more reliable, portable method for assessing strength in IBM.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Rehabilitation Medicine
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Accurate measurement of knee extensor strength is crucial for tracking inclusion body myositis (IBM) progression and standardizing clinical trial outcomes.
- Isokinetic dynamometers (IKD) are the gold standard but are costly and not portable.
- Current handheld dynamometry (HHD) methods lack consistent accuracy due to reliance on operator technique.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if strap-stabilization of HHD (SSHD) improves agreement with IKD for knee extensor strength measurement in IBM patients.
- To compare SSHD and operator-stabilized HHD (OSHD) against the gold standard IKD.
Main Methods:
- Fifteen IBM participants underwent bilateral knee extensor strength testing on the same day.
- Three dynamometry methods were used: IKD, OSHD, and SSHD.
- A crossover design was employed to mitigate potential fatigue bias.
Main Results:
- Poor absolute agreement was found between IKD and OSHD (ICC for strong/weak legs: 0.240/0.328).
- Agreement improved with the SSHD method.
- SSHD demonstrated reduced bias and significantly better agreement and intraclass correlations with IKD compared to OSHD (p < 0.05).
Conclusions:
- Strap-stabilized handheld dynamometry is a feasible method for assessing knee extensor strength in IBM patients.
- SSHD may offer better correlation with isokinetic dynamometry than OSHD.
- Larger studies are warranted to confirm these findings and establish SSHD as a reliable alternative.
