Reliability and validity of knee extensor strength measurements using a portable dynamometer anchoring system in a supine position

BACKGROUND: Muscle strength measurements using hand-held dynamometry (HHD) can be affected by the inadequate strength of the tester and lack of stabilization of the participants and the device. A portable HHD anchoring system was designed that enabled the measurement of isometric knee extensor muscle strength in a supine position. This can be used with individuals who are unable to assume the sitting position required for the measurement of knee extensor strength in conventional isokinetic dynamometry (IKD). The aim of this study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of knee extensor strength measurements using this device. METHODS: The maximal knee extensor isometric strength of the dominant leg in healthy adults aged 20 to 40 years was tested. Three trials of three contractions were assessed by two raters using the portable dynamometer anchoring system whilst the participant was in the supine position. After the three measurement trials, peak knee extensor torque was evaluated using IKD. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and 95% limits of agreement (LOA) for intra- and inter-rater reliability were obtained. RESULTS: Thirty-nine participants (19 male and 20 female, aged 30.08 ± 4.16 y), completed the three measurement trials. The ICC for intra-rater reliability was 0.98 for the maximum measurements of knee extensor strength (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.96–0.98) and 0.98 (95% CI: 0.96–0.99) for inter-rater reliability. The mean difference (%) between the maximum knee extensor strength measurements of each trial was 1.02% (LOA range: − 11.13 to 13.16%) for intra-rater and − 1.44% (LOA range: − 13.98 to 11.08%) for inter-rater measurements. The Pearson correlation coefficient of the maximum voluntary peak torque measurements with the portable dynamometer anchoring system and IKD was 0.927. CONCLUSIONS: The portable dynamometer anchoring system is a reliable and valid tool for measuring isometric knee extensor strength in a supine position. Future clinical feasibility studies are needed to determine if this equipment can be applied to people with severe illness or disabilities. TRIAL REGISTRATION: KCT0003041. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12891-019-2703-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.