Article

PURPOSE: To investigate the test-retest reliability of measuring hip abductor
strength in patients with total knee arthroplasty (TKA) using a hand-held
dynamometer (HHD) with two different types of resistance: belt and manual
resistance. METHOD: Test-retest reliability of 30 subjects (17 female, 13 male,
71.9 +/- 7.4 years old), 9.2 +/- 2.7 days post TKA was measured using belt and
therapist resistance. Retest reliability was calculated with intra-class
coefficients (ICC3,1) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for both the group
average and the individual scores. A paired t-test assessed whether a difference
existed between the belt and therapist methods of resistance. RESULTS: ICCs were
0.82 and 0.80 for the belt and therapist resisted methods, respectively. Hip
abductor strength increases of 8 N (14%) for belt resisted and 14 N (17%) for
therapist resisted measurements of the group average exceeded the 95% CI and may
represent real change. For individuals, hip abductor strength increases of 33 N
(72%) (belt resisted) and 57 N (79%) (therapist resisted) could be interpreted as
real change. CONCLUSIONS: Hip abductor strength can be reliably measured using
HHD in the clinical setting with the described protocol. Belt resistance
demonstrated slightly higher test-retest reliability. Implications for
Rehabilitation Reliable measurement of hip abductor muscle strength in patients
with TKA is important to ensure deficiencies are addressed in rehabilitation
programs and function is maximized. Hip abductor strength can be reliably
measured with a hand-held dynamometer in the clinical setting using manual or
belt resistance.

Langue : ANGLAIS