title: The validity of plantarflexor strength measures obtained through hand-held dynamometry measurements of force.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Hand-held dynamometers are commonly used to assess plantarflexor strength during rehabilitation. The purpose of this study was to determine the concurrent validity of measuring plantarflexion force using a hand-held dynamometer (HHD) as compared to an electromechanical dynamometer as the gold standard. The hypothesis was that plantarflexor forces obtained using a hand-held dynamometer would not show absolute agreement with a criterion standard.
  
  
  METHODS
  Concurrent validity assessment for a diagnostic strength testing device.
  
  
  METHODS
  Institutional clinic and research laboratory.
  
  
  METHODS
  Volunteer sample of healthy university students (N=20, 10 women, 10 men; 25.9±4.1 years).
  
  
  METHODS
  Maximal plantarflexion strength was measured using both a HHD and an electromechanical dynamometer (EMD) as a criterion measure.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Plantarflexor force measures with the HHD were significantly different (p<0.01) and not correlated with plantarflexor forces measured using the EMD for either limb (R(2) ≤ 0.09).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Plantarflexor strength measurements acquired using HHD are different from those acquired using an EMD and are likely influenced by the strength of the examiner.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective cohort study, level II.
authors.affiliation: University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA.
authors.forename: Adam R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Marmon
authors.affiliation: University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA.
authors.forename: Federico
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pozzi
authors.affiliation: King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Ali H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Alnahdi
authors.affiliation: University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA.
authors.forename: Joseph A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Zeni
keywords: Diagnostic strength; concurrent validity; triceps surae