COMPARATIVE REVIEW: HAND-HELD DYNAMOMETRY & RELIABILITY
This is a comparative review of three articles regarding the reliability of hand-held dynamometric measurements for assessment of the long-term stability of isometric force production measurements in muscles. The focus of this review is to provide a summary and comparative analysis of the articles. The merits and limits of each will be presented with a comparative discussion of sample groups, survey methods, findings, and analysis.
1. "Long-term stability of hand-held dynamometric measurements in children who have myelomeningocele" by Effgen & Brown.
This study assessed long-term stability of hand-held dynamometric measurements of isometric force production, in 30 muscle groups, before and after a 23-day interval. The sample was 12 children with myelomeningocele, 3 boys and 9 girls, aged 9.8 years to 17.4 years. A limit of this study was its small sample size which was further reduced by the end of the testing. A hand-held dynamometer (Spark) was used to test isometric force production of upper- and lower-extremity muscle groups. Body muscle groups on both sides were tested; side to be tested first was selected randomly at the precamp test session. Same test procedures were repeated 23 days later. The examiner, blind to previous measures, was the same for both sessions. Interrater reliability was assessed on each testing day, on randomly selected muscle groups. Two researchers verified data entry for accuracy, independently. A strength of this study was its attempts to eliminate bias with blind examiners; reliability was further enhanced with interrater assessment and random selection of muscle groups.
Most muscle groups had excellent stability. Upper-extremity muscle groups had higher long-term stability than lower-extremity groups. Person correlations show coefficients ranged from .76 to .98. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) ranged fr...