Uniaxial Hand-Held Dynamometer (HHD) is a low-cost device widely adopted in clinical practice to measure muscle force. HHD measurements depend on operator’s ability and joint movements. The aim of the work is to validate the use of a commercial HHD in both dorsiflexion and plantarflexion ankle strength measurements quantifying the effects of HHD misplacements and unwanted foot’s movements on the measurements. We used an optoelectronic system and a multicomponent load cell to quantify the sources of error in the manual assessment of the ankle strength due to both the operator’s ability to hold still the HHD and the transversal components of the exerted force that are usually neglected in clinical routine. Results showed that foot’s movements and angular misplacements of HHD on sagittal and horizontal planes were relevant sources of inaccuracy on the strength assessment. Moreover, ankle dorsiflexion and plantarflexion force measurements presented an inaccuracy less than 2% and higher than 10%, respectively. In conclusion, the manual use of a uniaxial HHD is not recommend ed for the assessment of ankle plantarflexion strength; on the contrary, it can be allowed asking the operator to pay strong attention to the HHD positioning in ankle dorsiflexion strength measurements.

Validation of ankle strength measurements by means of a hand-held dynamometer in adult healthy subjects / Ancillao, Andrea; Palermo, Eduardo; Rossi, Stefano. - In: JOURNAL OF SENSORS. - ISSN 1687-725X. - ELETTRONICO. - 2017:(2017). [10.1155/2017/5426031]

Validation of ankle strength measurements by means of a hand-held dynamometer in adult healthy subjects

Andrea Ancillao;Eduardo Palermo;
2017

Abstract

Uniaxial Hand-Held Dynamometer (HHD) is a low-cost device widely adopted in clinical practice to measure muscle force. HHD measurements depend on operator’s ability and joint movements. The aim of the work is to validate the use of a commercial HHD in both dorsiflexion and plantarflexion ankle strength measurements quantifying the effects of HHD misplacements and unwanted foot’s movements on the measurements. We used an optoelectronic system and a multicomponent load cell to quantify the sources of error in the manual assessment of the ankle strength due to both the operator’s ability to hold still the HHD and the transversal components of the exerted force that are usually neglected in clinical routine. Results showed that foot’s movements and angular misplacements of HHD on sagittal and horizontal planes were relevant sources of inaccuracy on the strength assessment. Moreover, ankle dorsiflexion and plantarflexion force measurements presented an inaccuracy less than 2% and higher than 10%, respectively. In conclusion, the manual use of a uniaxial HHD is not recommend ed for the assessment of ankle plantarflexion strength; on the contrary, it can be allowed asking the operator to pay strong attention to the HHD positioning in ankle dorsiflexion strength measurements.
2017
muscle strength; gait pattern; reliability knee;validity;children; posture; quality; torque; motion
01 Pubblicazione su rivista::01a Articolo in rivista
Validation of ankle strength measurements by means of a hand-held dynamometer in adult healthy subjects / Ancillao, Andrea; Palermo, Eduardo; Rossi, Stefano. - In: JOURNAL OF SENSORS. - ISSN 1687-725X. - ELETTRONICO. - 2017:(2017). [10.1155/2017/5426031]
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11573/1028913
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