Bilateral isokinetic variables of the shoulder: a prediction model for young men

Abstract

Clinicians frequently want to know the pre-injury strength of an uninjured limb. The purpose of this study was to delineate the differences in bilateral isokinetic peak torque (PT) at 60°/s and 240°/s, and torque acceleration energy (TAE), average power (AP) and total work (TW) at 240°/s during shoulder extension and flexion movements, and to develop a method to determine the expected maximal isokinetic variables of the dominant shoulder based upon isokinetic measurements from the non-dominant shoulder. Shoulder isokinetic measurements were obtained from 30 normal young male adults. While bilateral correlation was significant (P < 0.01), results also suggest significant bilateral differences P < 0.01). Thus, it is inappropriate to use the uninjured extremity to predict the pre-injured strength of the injured side without adjustment. In this investigation models were developed relating the expected maximal isokinetic measurement of the dominant shoulder to the non-dominant shoulder measurements. © 1995.