Reliability of soleus muscle measurement with a hand-held dynamometer

Abstract

[Purpose] This study investigated the reliability of a hand-held dynamometer (HDD) in the measurement of soleus muscle strength. [Subjects] Fourteen soleus muscles of 7 healthy adults were selected for the intra-rater and inter-rater reliability confirmation. [Method] The measurement was performed while the subjects sat on a chair without the toes touching the ground. The sensor was set at the MP joint on the sole and it was fixed by a belt attached to the thigh. Measurement was performed three times for each muscle. We calculated the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) to determine the reliability of the measurement. [Results] The intra-rater reliability was 0.975 (ICC) and inter-rater reliability was 0.915 (ICC). [Conclusion] The results of this study indicate that anyone can use the HDD as an objective and a reliable method to measure the soleus muscle strength.