Validity and Reliability of Hand-Held Dynamometry for Abdominal Flexion Muscular Assessment

Abstract

Context: Abdominal musculature underpins core stability, which can allow for optimal performance in many activities of daily living (eg, walking and rising from a chair). Therefore, assessment of the abdominal muscles poses as an important consideration for clinicians in order to identify people at risk of injury or functional decline. Objective: This study aimed to build on the limited amount of knowledge surrounding abdominal muscle strength assessments by investigating the validity and reliability of hand-held dynamometry (HHD) for the assessment of isometric abdominal flexion strength. Study Design and Participants: Comparative analysis for validity and test–retest reliability was employed on a cohort of apparently healthy individuals. HHD was compared with the criterion, isokinetic dynamometry, through an isometric contraction of trunk flexion on both instruments. Hand-held dynamometry assessments only were performed on a subsequent day for reliability analysis. The peak values for all assessments were recorded. Results: A total of 35 participants were recruited from the University of South Australia and the general public. Comparative analysis between the HHD and isokinetic dynamometer showed good agreement (intraclass correlation coefficients = .82), with the Bland–Altman plots confirming no proportional bias. Reliability analysis for the HHD reported good consistency (intraclass correlation coefficients = .87). Conclusion: HHD together with the participant setup (supine, trunk flexed, and supported at 25° with the legs horizontal and remaining unfixed) is a valid and reliable tool to assess isometric abdominal flexion strength.

Practicable performance-based outcome measures of trunk muscle strength and their measurement properties: A systematic review and narrative synthesis

“…Asymptomatic individuals. Eight studies evaluated the intra-rater reliability of HHD for trunk flexion, extension and side bending where the dynamometer was externally fixed [43,44,47,52,60] or held by the examiner [58,61,63]. All studies rated as sufficient for the COSMIN criteria for good measurement properties where the ICC ranged from 0.8 to1.00 except for flexion from supine position where ICC = 0.67 [63] and…”

“…Six studies investigated criterion validity of the HHD compared to ID [43,52,58,60,63] with moderate quality evidence overall indicating moderate confidence in the criterion validity estimates of the HHD in measuring trunk flexion and extension strength. Only one study with extremely serious ROB revealed sufficient convergent validity of the HHD compared to Back-Check (BC) [44] with overall, very low quality evidence.…”

Reliability of Hand-Held Dynamometer for assessing Isometric Lumbar Muscles Strength in Asymptomatic Healthy Population

“…HHD showed good agreement (ICC=0.82) and good consistency (ICC=0.87). 21 It was observed that all HHD assessments are highly reliable. Thus, HHD is considered suitable for testing the isometric strength of lumbar muscles in clinical setting.…”

Modifiable Physical Factors That Influence Physical Function for People Receiving Peritoneal Dialysis

“…The abdominal flexion strength assessment has demonstrated good to excellent validity (ICC = 0.82) and reliability (ICC = 0.86) for the assessment of abdominal flexion strength. 22 No breaking procedure was used, participants performed 3 isometric efforts on each limb or 3 single isometric efforts of the abdominal flexion holding each effort for 3 seconds with the result in kilograms recorded. The highest value obtained for each limb and assessment were recorded.…”