title: Normal trunk muscle strength and endurance in women and the effect of exercises and electrical stimulation. Part 1: Normal endurance and trunk muscle strength in 101 women.
abstract: The lack of trunk muscle strength and endurance has frequently been cited as a suspected factor in the etiology of low-back pain. Several investigators have suggested that asymptomatic patients have stronger trunk muscles than patients with low-back pain. People who are physically fit appear to have a decreased incidence of low-back pain. Increased trunk muscle endurance also have been observed to decrease the incidence of low-back pain. The objective evaluation of the strength and endurance of trunk musculature may, therefore, be significant. Part 1 of this study was designed to develop a reproducible strength-endurance screening procedure and to establish normal isometric-isokinetic trunk muscle strength and endurance parameters for women. This study showed that isometric trunk flexion varied from 19-109 Nm and trunk extension from 38-168 Nm. Peak values for isokinetic trunk flexion at two speeds (30 degrees per second and 60 degrees per second) varied from 17-191 Nm and isokinetic trunk extension from 14-208 Nm. The average endurance time for trunk extensors tested with the Sorensen test was 196 seconds.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007537:Isometric Contraction; D007551:Isotonic Contraction; D008875:Middle Aged; D009119:Muscle Contraction; D010807:Physical Endurance; D005082:Physical Exertion; D012016:Reference Values