Objectification of the Functional Myodiagnosis Muscle Test

Objective: This study aimed to investigate whether the subjective assessments of strong and weak muscles in the Functional Myodiagnosis muscle test (FMD-MT) can be objectively and reproducibly verified using physically measurable parameters. Additionally, we sought to evaluate the reliability of the manual muscle test in order to reinforce the scientific evidence supporting this accepted, yet not widely adopted, complementary medicine method. Methods: In a crossover observational study, three experienced medical practitioners conducted the FMD-MT of the rectus femoris muscle on 24 healthy participants using a specially designed therapy bench, with all measurements recorded via an oscillogram. The study investigated the force-time integral, joint angle change, additional force load, mean force turning point 1, as well as the interrater reliability and validity of both examiner assessments and instrumental analyses for the two muscle reaction variants: strong and weak. Results: A significant difference between the response pattern of strong and weak muscles was identified for the force-time integral (p = 0.005), the change in joint angle (p < 0.001), and the additional force load (p = 0.001). No difference between strong and weak muscles could be detected regarding the force turning point 1 (p = 0.972). The examiners demonstrated 100% accuracy in identifying weak muscle reactions as weak, and 99.2% accuracy in identifying strong muscle reactions as strong (p = 0.316). The overall intra-class correlation coefficient was 0.984. The oscillogram correctly visualized weak muscle reactions in weak muscles with an accuracy of 81.7%, and strong muscle reactions in strong muscles with an accuracy of 86.7% (p = 0.289). Conclusions: The Functional Myodiagnosis muscle test (FMD-MT) enables a clear and objective differentiation between strong and weak muscles, with statistically significant differences observed in the force-time integral, additional force load, and joint angle changes. Under rigorously standardized testing conditions, the FMD-MT of the rectus femoris muscle demonstrates a validity rate of 99.6% and an excellent reliability (ICC 0.984). Consequently, the FMD muscle test proves to be a reliable, reproducible, and objective diagnostic method. Trial registration: German Register of Clinical Studies U1111-1212-6622.