title: Development of a position-specific index of muscle strength to be used in stroke evaluation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To develop a position-specific index of muscle strength for individuals with stroke.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional design.
  
  
  METHODS
  A major teaching hospital in a Canadian urban city.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty-three patients with poststroke onset between 3 and 12 months.
  
  
  METHODS
  Not applicable.
  
  
  METHODS
  The muscle strength of the lower-extremity muscles was tested bilaterally in multiple positions using hand-held dynamometry.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A principal components analysis resulted in grouping the muscles of the affected and unaffected sides of the gravity related and gravity eliminated positions into 5 indices. The 5 indices were moderately to highly correlated (r2 range, .59-.81) with each other and so were combined into 1 global index. The gravity related muscle strength on the affected side was, on average, 85% of the unaffected side (range, 37%-157%); the gravity eliminated muscle strength of the affected side was, on average, 92% of the unaffected side (range, 53%-121%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study resolves the methodologic issue of how to summarize multiple data points that relate to one construct, namely, strength of different muscle groups assessed in several positions.
authors.affiliation: Division of Clinical Epidemiology, Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada.
authors.forename: Carolina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Moriello
authors.forename: Nancy E
authors.initials: NE
authors.lastname: Mayo
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D035002:Lower Extremity; D053580:Muscle Strength; D053581:Muscle Strength Dynamometer; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000503:physiopathology*; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D020521:Stroke / Q000503:physiopathology*