Reliability of dynamometry in patients with a neuromuscular disorder

The reliability of a measuring method and a dynamometer itself was tested by measuring the maximal torques generated by the flexors and extensors of the elbow in healthy subjects. A similar measuring method on the same dynamometer was also studied in a group of patients suffering from a neuromuscular disorder. The healthy subjects aged twenty-one to thirty-five years were measured once a week over a period of six weeks and the patients aged twenty-three to fifty-six years once a month over a period of six months. Each measurement consisted of three registrations of three seconds. The maximal registration was taken as the measured value. The measured values of the patients show relatively large variations compared to the measured values of the healthy subjects. Analysis of the dynamometer shows problems typical for the group of patients studied. A new type of dynamometer is proposed