OBJECTIVES To evaluate neuromuscular signs and symptoms in patients with newly diagnosed hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism. METHODS A prospective cohort study was performed in adult patients with newly diagnosed thyroid dysfunction. Patients were evaluated clinically with hand held dynamometry and with electrodiagnosis. The clinical features of weakness and sensory signs and the biochemical ...

OBJECTIVES To develop and determine convergent validity and reliability of a simple and inexpensive clinical test to quantify back extensor muscle strength. METHODS Two testing sessions were conducted, 7 days apart. Each session involved three trials of standing maximal isometric back extensor muscle strength using both the novel test and isokinetic dynamometry. Lumbar spine bone mineral dens...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Muscle weakness frequently impairs the ability to maintain upright sitting in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). The primary purpose of this study was to examine the intrarater and interrater reliability of hand-held dynamometry to assess postural muscle strength for maintaining upright sitting in individuals with SCI. We also assessed reliability of forces measur...

BACKGROUND Vertical jump tests are used in athletics and rehabilitation to measure physical performance in people of different age ranges and fitness. Jumping ability can be analyzed through different variables, and the most commonly used are fly time and jump height. They can be obtained by a variety of measuring devices, but most are limited to laboratory use only. The current generation of s...

CONTEXT Lateral trunk-flexion strength is an important determinant of overall trunk stability and function, but the reliability in measuring this outcome clinically in athletic individuals is not known. OBJECTIVE To determine the interrater and intrarater reliability of lateral trunk-flexion strength measurement in athletic individuals using handheld dynamometry. DESIGN Reliability study. ...

A total of 80 patients with an acute rupture of tendo Achillis were randomised to operative repair using an open technique (39 patients) or non-operative treatment in a cast (41 patients). Patients were followed up for one year. Outcome measures included clinical complications, range of movement of the ankle, the Short Musculoskeletal Function Assessment (SMFA), and muscle function dynamometry ...

BACKGROUND The rapid increase in life expectancy in Chile, with obesity as the main nutritional problem in all age groups, makes it necessary to ask whether the years gained are healthy. AIM To study the trajectories of disability associated with obesity in Chilean elderly groups from different socio-economic and demographic backgrounds. MATERIAL AND METHODS Longitudinal study of 3 cohorts ...

Background Muscle strength is usually measured in individuals with stroke with Portable dynamometers (gold standard). However, no studies have investigated the reliability, the standard error of measurement (SEM) and the minimal detectable difference (MDD95%) of the dynamometry for the measurement of hand grip, pinch grip and trunk strength in subjects with subacute stroke. Objective 1) To in...

This study aimed to analyze the isolated and combined effects of non-modifiable factors on adolescents’ physical fitness. cross-sectional, descriptive involved 1475 adolescents, aged 12 19 years, whom 721 were girls, from four public schools in southern Spain. Physical activity, birth weight breastfeeding time, fitness assessed. To calculate 2D:4D ratio, three separate measurements length index...

BACKGROUND Enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) in adults with Pompe disease, a progressive neuromuscular disorder, is of promising but variable efficacy. We investigated whether it alters the course of disease, and also identified potential prognostic factors. METHODS Patients in this open-label single-center study were treated biweekly with 20 mg/kg alglucosidase alfa. Muscle strength, muscle f...