Reliability of hand‐held dynamometry in spinal muscular atrophy

Abstract

We have assessed the reliability of hand‐held myometry in 33 patients with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), testing elbow flexion, handgrip, three‐point pinch, knee flexion, knee extension, and foot dorsiflexion, and determining intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC). Interrater reliability was high for upper limbs, with an ICC of 0.92 for three‐point pinch and 0.98 for elbow flexion and grip. For lower limbs interrater reliability was good with ICC >0.85 for all measures except foot dorsiflexion. Test–retest results were excellent with ICC >0.91 in all instances. Hand‐held myometry is easily performed in SMA patients of various ages and muscle strengths, is a reliable measure of limb muscle strength, and can be used in longitudinal studies and clinical trials. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Muscle Nerve 26: 64–70, 2002