Examination and reliability of measuring muscle strength of ankle plantar flexion with knee extended.
Yuko Shimizu, Shigeo Tsutsui, Munenori Katoh
PMID 37670756WHAT IT FOUND
Ankle plantar flexion strength can be measured consistently with a handheld device when the foot is firmly fixed.
The method was repeatable in 20 healthy adults, but changes smaller than the reported error may not be real and it is not yet tested in patients.
Key findings
01Repeated readings by the same examiner were very consistent, with values of 0.978 for Examiner A and 0.987 for Examiner B.
02Readings taken by different examiners were also consistent, with a value of 0.946.
03The minimal detectable change was 110.8 N for Examiner A, 82.0 N for Examiner B, and 181.1 N between examiners.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study tested only 20 healthy adults with no cardiopulmonary or lower limb dysfunction, so it does not show that the method works in older adults or people with disease. No average value for each age group was available, so a single measured value cannot yet be compared with age-specific average values. The inter-examiner error was relatively large, so readings from different examiners should be compared cautiously.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the high repeatability in 20 healthy adults as proof that this method is ready for patients or that small changes are real. The paper reported minimal detectable changes of 110.8 N, 82.0 N, and 181.1 N, and no age-specific reference values were available.