Article

Muscle weakness in the upper limb is common in persons with late
effects of polio. To be able to measure muscle strength and follow changes over
time, reliable measurements are needed. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the intra-rater
reliability of isometric and isokinetic arm and hand muscle strength measurements
in persons with late effects of polio. DESIGN: A test-retest design. SETTINGS: A
university hospital outpatient clinic. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-eight persons (mean
age 68 years, SD 11 years) with late effects of polio in their upper limbs.
METHODS: Isometric shoulder abduction, isokinetic concentric elbow flexion and
extension, isometric elbow flexion, and isometric grip strength were measured
twice, 14 days apart. Reliability was evaluated with the intra-class correlation
coefficient, the mean difference between the test sessions (d ), together with
the 95% confidence intervals for d , the standard error of measurement (SEM and
SEM%), the smallest real difference (SRD and SRD%), and Bland-Altman graphs. MAIN
OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: A fixed dynamometer (Biodex) was used to measure arm
strength and an electronic dynamometer (GRIP-it) was used to measure grip
strength. RESULTS: Intra-rater reliability was high, with intra-class correlation
coefficients between 0.87 and 0.98. The SEM%, representing the smallest change
for a group of persons, ranged from 7%-24% for all strength measurements, and the
SRD%, representing the smallest change for an individual person, ranged from
20%-67%. CONCLUSION: Muscle strength in the upper limbs can be reliably measured
in persons with late effects of polio. However, the measurement errors indicate
that the method is more suitable to detect changes in muscle strength for a group
of persons than for an individual person.
CI - Copyright (c) 2015 American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.
Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS