title: Hand-held dynamometry; stability of muscle strength over multiple measurements.
abstract: Repeated measurements of elbow flexion force were obtained to determine the stability of muscle strength over multiple measurements (four) with a hand-held dynamometer. Thirty-one healthy, adult women were tested. Although the force of the fourth trial was found to differ significantly from the force of the first and second trials, the reliability of the procedure was very high (ICC=0·955). The first trial was usually the strongest, but not alqays. The coefficient of variation of the first two efforts did not decrease with the inclusion of the third and fourth trials in its calculation. If the fourth trial is excluded, the measurements demonstrate stability. Given this finding and the finding that the earlier efforts were usually the strongest, little justification for multiple measurements of strength is apparent in the subjects tested.
authors.affiliation: Dept Physical Therapy, Cape Fear Valley Medical Center, Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Bohannon