Reproducibility of jumping mechanography in healthy children and adults.

OBJECTIVES To describe mechanographic tests that can be performed by patients with a range of functional abilities and to assess the reproducibility of test results in healthy adults and children. METHODS Fifteen adults and 13 children underwent two separate sessions, one week apart. Participants performed five different tests in both sessions: Multiple one-legged hopping, multiple two-legged hopping, single two-legged jump, heel-rise test, chair-rise test. All measurements were recorded with a portable force platform. RESULTS The main outcome measures of each test (peak force relative to body weight or peak power relative to body weight, depending on the test) showed no systematic differences between Session 1 and 2 for any of the test results. Coefficients of variation for the suggested main outcome parameters ranged between 3.4% and 7.5% for multiple one-legged hopping, multiple two-legged hopping, single two-legged jump and the heel-rise test, but were higher for the chair-rise test (8.0% in adults, 15.6% in children). CONCLUSIONS The five mechanographic tests assessed in the present study yield reproducible outcome measures in healthy subjects. It is justified to evaluate the usefulness of these tests in different patient populations.