• Physical therapy · Apr 2014

    Are repeated single-limb heel raises and manual muscle testing associated with peak plantar-flexor force in people with inclusion body myositis?

    • Michael O Harris-Love, Joseph A Shrader, Todd E Davenport, Galen Joe, Goran Rakocevic, Beverly McElroy, and Marinos Dalakas.
    • M.O. Harris-Love, PT, DSc, Research Service/Geriatrics and Extended Care Service, Washington DC Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, DC; Department of Exercise Scien... more ce, School of Public Health and Health Services, George Washington University, Washington, DC; and Rehabilitation Medicine Department, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland. Mailing address: Research Service/Geriatrics and Extended Care Service, Washington DC Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Department of Veterans Affairs, 50 Irving St NW, Room 11G, Washington, DC 20422. less
    • Phys Ther. 2014 Apr 1; 94 (4): 543-52.

    BackgroundRepeated heel raises have been proposed as a method of ankle plantar-flexor strength testing that circumvents the limitations of manual muscle testing (MMT).ObjectiveThe study objective was to examine the relationships among ankle plantar-flexion isometric maximum voluntary contraction (MVC), repeated single-limb heel raises (SLHRs), and MMT in people with myositis.DesignThis was a cross-sectional study with a between-group design. The ability to complete 1 SLHR determined group assignment (SLHR group, n=24; no-SLHR group, n=19).MethodsForty-three participants with myositis (13 women; median age=64.9 years) participated. Outcome measures included MVC, predicted MVC, Kendall MMT, and Daniels-Worthingham MMT.ResultsThe Kendall MMT was unable to detect significant ankle plantar-flexor weakness established by quantitative methods and was unable to discriminate between participants who could and those who could not perform the SLHR task. Ankle plantar-flexion MVC was not associated with the number of heel-raise repetitions in the SLHR group (pseudo R(2)=.13). No significant relationship was observed between MVC values and MMT grades in the SLHR and no-SLHR groups. However, a moderate relationship between MVC values and MMT grades was evident in a combined-group analysis (ρ=.50-.67).LimitationsThe lower half of both MMT grading scales was not represented in the study despite the profound weakness of the participants.ConclusionsBoth Kendall MMT and Daniels-Worthingham MMT had limited utility in the assessment of ankle plantar-flexor strength. Repeated SLHRs should not be used as a proxy measure of ankle plantar-flexion MVC in people with myositis.

      Pubmed     Full text   Copy Citation  

      Add institutional full text...

    Notes

    hide…

What will the 'Medical Journal of You' look like?

Start your free 21 day trial now.

We guarantee your privacy. Your email address will not be shared.