%0 Journal Article %1 Taylor2004a %A Taylor, Nicholas F %A Dodd, Karen J %A Graham, H. Kerr %D 2004 %J Arch Phys Med Rehabil %K Adolescent; Cerebral Palsy; Child; Female; Humans; Leg; Male; Muscle, Skeletal; Reproducibility of Results %N 1 %P 77--80 %T Test-retest reliability of hand-held dynamometric strength testing in young people with cerebral palsy. %V 85 %X OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the test-retest reliability of measuring lower-limb strength with a hand-held dynamometer in young people with cerebral palsy (CP). DESIGN: One rater measured the isometric strength of the lower limbs in 10 participants with CP on 2 occasions separated by 6 weeks. SETTING: University movement rehabilitation laboratory in Australia. PARTICIPANTS: Ten young people (mean age +/- standard deviation, 13.5+/-3.4 y) with spastic diplegic CP. Eight of the participants walked independently and 2 walked with assistive devices. INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Retest reliability of lower-limb strength, expressed in the units of measurement for the interpretation of group mean and individual scores and as intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC(2,1)). RESULTS: For groups, mean lower-limb strength increases of 7 kg (30\%) could be interpreted as real change using 95\% confidence intervals (CIs). For individuals, for strength gains to be interpreted as real change using 95\% CIs, strength increases would need to be greater than 16.8 kg (70\%) for the measurement of knee extension and to be greater than 4.3 kg (25\%) for ankle plantarflexion. Measurement of hip extension strength was not reliable for group mean or individual scores. All reliability coefficients were greater than.80. CONCLUSION: A hand-held dynamometer can reliably measure changes in lower-limb strength for groups of young people with CP. It is uncertain whether this method is useful for evaluating change in individuals. Relying only on a coefficient of reliability to decide the usefulness of a measurement can be misleading.

@article{Taylor2004a, abstract = {OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the test-retest reliability of measuring lower-limb strength with a hand-held dynamometer in young people with cerebral palsy (CP). DESIGN: One rater measured the isometric strength of the lower limbs in 10 participants with CP on 2 occasions separated by 6 weeks. SETTING: University movement rehabilitation laboratory in Australia. PARTICIPANTS: Ten young people (mean age +/- standard deviation, 13.5+/-3.4 y) with spastic diplegic CP. Eight of the participants walked independently and 2 walked with assistive devices. INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Retest reliability of lower-limb strength, expressed in the units of measurement for the interpretation of group mean and individual scores and as intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC(2,1)). RESULTS: For groups, mean lower-limb strength increases of 7 kg (30\%) could be interpreted as real change using 95\% confidence intervals (CIs). For individuals, for strength gains to be interpreted as real change using 95\% CIs, strength increases would need to be greater than 16.8 kg (70\%) for the measurement of knee extension and to be greater than 4.3 kg (25\%) for ankle plantarflexion. Measurement of hip extension strength was not reliable for group mean or individual scores. All reliability coefficients were greater than.80. CONCLUSION: A hand-held dynamometer can reliably measure changes in lower-limb strength for groups of young people with CP. It is uncertain whether this method is useful for evaluating change in individuals. Relying only on a coefficient of reliability to decide the usefulness of a measurement can be misleading.}, added-at = {2014-07-19T21:42:40.000+0200}, author = {Taylor, Nicholas F and Dodd, Karen J and Graham, H. Kerr}, biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/25debca00ce4e4dd0d78359212bef4a2c/ar0berts}, groups = {public}, interhash = {1f69f1c1d0233c63a9ff7b8db901cba9}, intrahash = {5debca00ce4e4dd0d78359212bef4a2c}, journal = {Arch Phys Med Rehabil}, keywords = {Adolescent; Cerebral Palsy; Child; Female; Humans; Leg; Male; Muscle, Skeletal; Reproducibility of Results}, month = Jan, number = 1, pages = {77--80}, pii = {S0003999303003794}, pmid = {14970972}, timestamp = {2014-07-19T21:47:59.000+0200}, title = {Test-retest reliability of hand-held dynamometric strength testing in young people with cerebral palsy.}, username = {ar0berts}, volume = 85, year = 2004 }