Obtaining reliable measurements of knee extensor torque produced during maximal voluntary contractions: an experimental investigation

Department of Physical Therapy, Medical College of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond 23298-0224.

The purpose of this study was to develop and test a protocol that could be used to obtain reliable measurements of knee extensor torque produced during maximal voluntary contractions. On each of 3 days, 10 subjects performed six consecutive maximal voluntary contractions, in the same randomized order, for each of the following 10 conditions: concentric isokinetic contractions at velocities of 30 degrees, 90 degrees, 120 degrees, and 180 degrees/s; eccentric isokinetic contractions at velocities of 30 degrees, 90 degrees, 120 degrees, and 180 degrees/s; and isometric contractions at 40 and 60 degrees of knee flexion. The peak torques produced were examined to determine on which day and during which contraction subjects produced the greatest torques for each condition. This information was used to develop a practice protocol. Fifteen different subjects were tested following this protocol. Subjects participated in two practice sessions, a test session, and a retest session. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were calculated to determine the degree of agreement between torques for the test and retest sessions. The ICCs ranged from .87 to .98. The protocol developed appears to be useful for obtaining reliable measurements of knee extensor torque.

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