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Muscle strength testing with one repetition maximum in the arm/shoulder for people aged 75 + - test-retest reliability

C Karlsson

Department of Geriatric Medicine, Research and Development Unit, Jakobsberg Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Järfälla, Sweden

K Frändin

Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Division of Physiotherapy, Huddinge, Sweden

G Akner

Department of Geriatric Medicine, Research and Development Unit, Jakobsberg Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Järfälla, Sweden

Objective: To investigate the reliability of a muscle strength test of the arm/shoulder in elderly people, aged 75 and older, and to compare subjects with and without previous muscle strength training experience.

Design: Reliability study - test-retest.

Setting: Research centre for the elderly.

Main measures: One repetition maximum (1 RM) was measured using an arm/shoulder strength-training device (Pull Down, Norway). Two measurements were conducted, approximately one week apart.

Results: Forty people were included in the study and 34 completed both sessions. Eleven participants had previous muscle strength training experience on the indicated device. There was a high correlation between the test sessions, r = 0.97 for both groups. The analysis of 95% limits of agreement for the mean difference was -4.3/+6.9 kg for the group without and -3.0/+6.4 kg for the group with previous experience, respectively.

Conclusion: One repetition maximum evaluated by the Pull Down device seems to be a reliable and safe method for dosing and evaluating a muscle strength training programme for elderly people. The observed variation of approximately -4/+7 kg cannot be interpreted as an effect of muscle training, but is more likely an effect of learning, fluctuations in daily condition and/or motivation.

Clinical Rehabilitation, Vol. 21, No. 3, 258-265 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0269215506072088


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