Article

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relative and absolute reliabilities of the
myotonometer. DESIGN: Psychometric study. SETTING: Three medical centers.
PARTICIPANTS: Patients with stroke (N=61). INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN
OUTCOME MEASURES: Muscle tone, elasticity, and stiffness of relaxed affected
deltoid, triceps brachii, biceps brachii, extensor digitorum, flexor carpi
radialis, and flexor carpi ulnaris were measured twice, 30 minutes apart, using
the myotonometer. Intraclass correlation coefficient, a relative reliability
index, was calculated for 3 muscular properties and for each muscle to examine
the degree of consistency and agreement between the 2 test sessions. Absolute
reliability indices, including the SEM, smallest real difference, and
Bland-Altman limits of agreement, were used to quantify measurement errors and
check systematic biases of the 2 test sessions. RESULTS: The intraclass
correlation coefficients were .83 to .95 for muscle tone, elasticity, and
stiffness of all muscle groups. The SEM and the smallest real difference of
muscle tone, elasticity, and stiffness of the biceps were the smallest among the
6 muscles tested. The Bland-Altman analyses showed no systematic bias between
most of the repeated measurements. Compared with other muscles, biceps had
narrower limits-of-agreement ranges, indicating that the myotonometric
measurements of the biceps had higher stability and less variation over time.
CONCLUSIONS: The myotonometer reliably measures muscular properties, with good
relative and absolute reliabilities. These findings are useful for clinicians and
researchers to assess muscle properties reliably and determine whether a real
change has occurred in groups and on individual levels of patients with stroke.
CI - Copyright (c) 2013 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by
Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS