Assessment of the strength of the trunk and upper limb muscles in stroke subjects with portable dynamometry: a literature review

Abstract

Introduction Clinical measurements of strength in stroke subjects are usually performed and portable dynamometers are one of the most employed instruments. Objective To verify the standardization procedures of the methods used to assess the strength of the trunk and upper limb muscles with portable dynamometers in stroke subjects, as well as to assess the psychometric properties which were already investigated. Materials and methods An extensive search was performed on the MEDLINE, SciELO, LILACS, and PEDro databases, by combining specific key words, followed by active manual searches by two independent researchers. Results and discussion Fifty-eight studies were included: three related to the trunk and 55 to the upper limb muscles, including handgrip and pinch strength assessments. The most investigated muscular groups were handgrip, elbow flexors/extensors, wrist extensors, and lateral pinch. Nine studies reported adequate reliability levels and the seated position was employed in the majority of the studies which assessed trunk, handgrip, and pinch strength, while the supine position was used for the other muscular groups. The number of trials most used was three, while the reported contractions and rest times were variable. Final considerations Most studies reported the positioning and/or the data collection protocols; however, there was no consensus on the standardization procedures. The only investigated psychometric property was reliability. Few studies evaluated the trunk muscles and other psychometric properties.

Immediate Response Gain in Handgrip Strength With Acupuncture: An Experimental Study

“…It is also useful for evaluating the recovery of people undergoing surgery of the hands or the loss of upper limb mobility due to illnesses, accidents or disabilities (Martins et al, 2015). In their studies, Smith et al (2006) and Habibi et al (2013) concluded that, by evaluating the handgrip strength, it is possible to predict the quality of the strength of the whole body, thus becoming an important predictive method.…”

Dynamometry for the measurement of grip, pinch, and trunk muscles strength in subjects with subacute stroke: reliability and different number of trials

“…Muscle weakness is also observed in the hemi-body ipsilateral to the brain lesion and in the torso as a whole 5 - 8 . Thus, the measurement of muscle strength in post stroke individuals is commonly performed 9 in different phases of the disease 10 , 11 .…”

“…Portable dynamometers are considered a valid instrument for measuring isometric muscular strength - they are easy to use, they provide objective measurements, they are sensitive for detecting changes in muscle strength 10 , 12 , and they provide suitable values of validity and reliability for different muscle groups and populations tested 11 . The intra-rater and inter-rater reliability of portable dynamometers in the measurement of hand grip, pinch grip, and trunk strength was recently investigated in individuals in the chronic phase of stroke 13 , and demonstrated adequate results, with Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICC) varying from moderate to very high 14 (0.58≤ICC≤0.98).…”

Assessment of the strength of the lower limb muscles in subjects with stroke with portable dynamometry: a literature review

“…Therefore, to accurately assess strength, it is necessary to apply a valid (16), reliable (11,15), and sensitive (11) method, that provides objective measures (11,17), such as portable dynamometry. Portable dynamometers are commonly used in research (18) and, in some situations, within clinical settings. They are easy-to-use devices and to perform the tests, the device is positioned between the examiner's hand and the muscular group under assessment, similar to the MMT assessment (12,18).…”

“…Portable dynamometers are commonly used in research (18) and, in some situations, within clinical settings. They are easy-to-use devices and to perform the tests, the device is positioned between the examiner's hand and the muscular group under assessment, similar to the MMT assessment (12,18). Some factors may influence the measures obtained with portable dynamometers (19), such as positioning of the subjects and the device, number of trials, contraction and resting times, prior demonstration and familiarization with the procedures, and supply of verbal or visual encouragements.…”