Musculoskeletal Research Centre, Faculty of Health Sciences, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia. m.spink @ latrobe.edu.au
Gerontology. 2010;56(6):525-32. doi: 10.1159/000264655. Epub 2009 Dec 3.
Age-related reduction in lower limb muscle strength has been shown to be related to disability, falls and loss of independence. While there have been a number of studies on age-related changes in muscle strength, they have concentrated on more proximal muscle groups with little research into how ageing affects the muscles of the foot and ankle.
To evaluate the intra- and interrater reliability of hand-held dynamometry for the assessment of foot and ankle strength, and to compare the values obtained between young and older people.
The muscle groups which perform ankle dorsiflexion, plantar flexion, inversion, eversion and plantar flexion of the hallux and lesser digits were recorded for 36 young participants (17 males, 19 females, mean age 23.2 ± 4.3 years) and 36 older people (17 males, 19 females, mean age 77.1 ± 5.7 years) using a Citec hand-held dynamometer. Differences in muscle strength between the groups as well as intrarater and interrater reliability of two assessors were determined.
The reliability of the hand-held dynamometry procedure was excellent for both intrarater (ICC(3,1) = 0.78-0.94) and interrater (ICC(3,1) = 0.77-0.88) comparisons. There were significant differences between the muscle strength of the young and older participants for all muscle groups tested (p < 0.001) with older participants being weaker than the young participants by a magnitude of between 24 and 37%.
Hand-held dynamometry is a reliable instrument to measure the foot and ankle strength of young and older adults. Ageing is associated with a reduction in strength of between 24 and 37% for the muscles responsible for movement of the foot and ankle.
下肢肌肉力量随年龄增长而减弱与残疾、跌倒和丧失独立性有关。虽然已经有许多关于肌肉力量随年龄变化的研究，但它们主要集中在更靠近身体近端的肌肉群，很少有研究关注衰老如何影响足部和踝关节的肌肉。
评估手持式测力计评估足部和踝关节力量的内部和外部可靠性，并比较年轻人和老年人之间获得的数值。
使用 Citec 手持式测力计记录 36 名年轻参与者（17 名男性，19 名女性，平均年龄 23.2 ± 4.3 岁）和 36 名老年人（17 名男性，19 名女性，平均年龄 77.1 ± 5.7 岁）的踝关节背屈、跖屈、内翻、外翻和足趾跖屈的肌肉群。确定组间肌肉力量差异以及两名评估者的内部和外部可靠性。
手持式测力计程序的可靠性对内部（ICC(3,1) = 0.78-0.94）和外部（ICC(3,1) = 0.77-0.88）评估均为优秀。所有测试的肌肉群中，年轻参与者和老年参与者的肌肉力量均存在显著差异（p < 0.001），老年参与者的肌肉力量比年轻参与者弱 24%至 37%。
手持式测力计是一种可靠的仪器，可测量年轻人和老年人的足部和踝关节力量。衰老与足部和踝关节运动相关肌肉的力量下降 24%至 37%有关。
