A Single trial may be used for measuring muscle strength with dynamometers in individuals with stroke: a cross-sectional study

Background: The mean of 3 trials is commonly employed to report measures of muscle strength after a stroke. However, consistent and reliable results have been found for single trial dynamometric measures of grip, pinch, and trunk strength in individuals with stroke. Nevertheless, no studies were fou...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Larissa Tavares Aguiar, Júlia Caetano Martins, Ludmylla Ferreira Quintino, Sherindan Ayessa Ferreira de Brito, Luci Fuscaldi Teixeira-Salmela, Christina Danielli Coelho de Morais Faria
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2019
País:Brasil
Institución:Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG)
Repositorio:Repositório Institucional da UFMG
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:repositorio.ufmg.br:1843/41479
Acceso en línea:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmrj.2018.08.377
http://hdl.handle.net/1843/41479
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9084-1019
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6556-6203
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8358-8636
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9784-9729
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Muscle strength
Stroke
Dynamometers
Upper limb muscles
Lower limb muscles
Força muscular
Acidente vascular cerebral
Dinamômetro de força muscular
Membros superiores
Membros inferiores
Descripción
Sumario:Background: The mean of 3 trials is commonly employed to report measures of muscle strength after a stroke. However, consistent and reliable results have been found for single trial dynamometric measures of grip, pinch, and trunk strength in individuals with stroke. Nevertheless, no studies were found that investigated whether only a single trial could be used for the assessment of the strength of both the upper and lower limb muscles. Objective: To determine the best scoring method (one vs the means of 2 or 3 trials) to measure the strength of the upper and lower limb muscles in individuals with sub-acute and chronic stroke. Design: Cross-sectional observational study. Setting: Research laboratory, participants' homes, and community-based settings. Participants: Fifty-five individuals at the sub-acute (mean age: 61 ± 13 years; 3.7 ± 0.7 months poststroke) and 59 at the chronic poststroke phases (mean age: 57 ± 130 years; 90 ± 71 months poststroke). Main outcome measurements: Bilateral maximum isometric strength measures of the shoulder, elbow, and wrist flexors/extensors; shoulder abductors; hip, knee, and ankle flexors/extensors; and hip abductors were obtained with a hand-held dynamometer. Methods: After familiarization, 3 trials of maximal isometric strength were obtained for all evaluated muscle groups. One-way analysis of variance was used to compare the results obtained with the first vs the means of 2 and 3 trials for all the assessed muscle groups. Results: The values provided by the different scoring methods were similar for all evaluated muscle groups in individuals with sub-acute (.68 ≤ P ≤ .99) and chronic (.69 ≤ P ≤ .99) stroke. Conclusions: A single trial, after familiarization, may be used for measuring the strength of the upper and lower limb muscles with hand-held dynamometers in individuals with sub-acute and chronic stroke. This increases the clinical applicability of hand-held dynamometers for strength measurement, as it reduces the assessment burden placed on the participants and therapists.