Muscle strength measurements of the Hand - Handen Team Zeeland

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Ton A.R. Schreuders, JW Brandsma, HJ Stam holding a key with paralysis of intrinsic muscles of the hand can become impossible (Figure 1). Figure 1. A patient with loss of all intrinsic muscles holding a key. Muscle strength testing For many centuries measuring muscle strength has been an area of interest for those who have been studying and are responsible for diagnosing many diseases that are accompanied by loss of strength. 5 Numerous neurological diseases are accompanied by atrophy of the intrinsic muscles of the hand. Therefore, muscle function strength testing is frequently used for clinical decision making in rehabilitation medicine, neurology, hand surgery and physical therapy. The purpose of this muscle strength testing is, besides diagnosis, to evaluate and compare treatments, to document progression or regression of e.g. muscle strength during rehabilitation, to provide feedback during the rehabilitation process, and to evaluate handicaps/restrictions of participation after injury. 6 In an historical outline of manual muscle strength testing 7 (MMST), the first person to design a numerical system of grading muscle action was Lowman in 1911, followed closely by Lovett who introduced the testing grades based on gravity. 8 The British Medical Research Council (MRC) specified a similar 0 to 5 scale where complete paralysis is graded as 0, grade 3 is when the limb segment can be moved actively against gravity, and grade 5 is normal strength. 9 The procedure for MMST is simple in that no equipment is needed. The hand of the examiner is used to feel the muscle activity and to give resistance to determine which grade the muscle can be given (Figure 2). Figure 2. Testing the abduction strength of the little finger (ulnar innervated hypothenar muscles); the right hand of the examiner gives resistance to determine which grade the muscle can be given. The most frequently used textbooks on MMST are still based on this early system of muscle grading, e.g. Kendall and Kendall 10 and Daniels L. Worthingham. 11 Some modification for MMST of the hand has been proposed by Brandsma et al. 12 In MMST of the hand, gravity is not taken into consideration, therefore grade 3 is considered as the ability of the muscle (group) to perform a full range of motion (ROM). When the interossei and lumbricals are tested as a group in the intrinsic plus position (MCP flexion and IP extension), grade 2 is given when the proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joint extension is less than 30° short of full extension. Brooke modified the 0-5 scale into an 11-point scale, adding “+” and “-“. 13 A 9-point scale has been investigated by Brandsma et al. for reliability in patients with neuritis due to leprosy. 14 Strength was graded on a modified MRC scale with 9 grades: 5, 4+, 4, 3+, 3, 2+, 2, 1 and 0. Overall agreement appeared to be good or very good (Kappa; 0.61-1.00). However, when data for hands with normal strength (grade 5) or complete paralysis (grade 0) were excluded from the analysis, the 2
Muscle strength measurements of the Hand reliability of the remaining mid-range scale was not acceptable. Limitations of MMST a) Although the textbooks usually present the muscle tests as if muscles can be tested in isolation, clinicians should be aware that usually a muscle group is tested rather than just one muscle. Some have suggested labelling the movement rather than the muscle, e.g. grading the palmar abduction movement of the thumb instead of abductor pollicis brevis (APB), because several muscles are active when testing the palmar abduction of the thumb. Only a few muscles can be graded in isolation, e.g. flexor pollicis longus, flexor digitorum profundus and first dorsal interosseous (1DI). b) The MRC uses a 6-point numeric scale (grades 0-5) and seems to indicate a constant distance between points. However, it is an ordinal scale with disproportional distances between grades; e.g. grade 4 is not twice as strong as grade 2. It might have been more appropriate to use terms such as normal, good, fair, trace and paralysed. c) Another important comment concerning MMST was made in the American Society of Handtherapists (ASHT) recommendations, 7 that its most appropriate use is in cases of extreme muscle deterioration. MMST is not appropriate for higher-level muscle function due to lack of sensitivity and precision, and should be used in conjunction with other evaluation tools. We contend that MMST is most useful for weak muscles with grades of 1, 2 and 3, but not for the higher grades. d) MMST is dependent on the examiner’s ability to assess the pressure as a parameter for strength. Experience of the examiner is important for reliable measurements. History of dynamometers for the hand One of the first dynamometers for measuring hand strength was the Graham-Desaguliers dynamometer, which was developed in London in 1763. The Regnier dynamometer was invented in Paris in 1798 to measure the traction properties of artillery horses, but was designed as an all-purpose instrument to measure specific human muscle groups as well. 8 In the past decades many different dynamometers have been introduced, e.g. cable tensiometers, sphygmomanometers, vigorimeters, 15 isokinetic dynamometers and strain gauge dynamometers. In response to the confusion generated by the many commercial and experimental grip strength instruments, the California Medical Association in 1956 evaluated the most commonly used instruments. 16 They found the Jamar, first introduced by Bechtol in 1954, 17 to be the most accurate. In 1978 the American Society for Surgery of the Hand recommended that the second position of the Jamar should be used and in 1981 the ASHT made additional recommendations, e.g. concerning posture and verbal instructions during measurements. 7 Grip strength measurements with a dynamometer have become popular and have been studied extensively. Less studies have been conducted to investigate pinch strength measurements. Van der Ploeg et al. 18 noticed the shortcoming of the MMST method by giving an example of strength measurements of the biceps muscle as an elbow flexor. The biceps needed 5 N of its normal strength (250 N) to overcome gravity; thus grade 3 corresponds with only 2% of the full strength of the biceps muscle. Dynamometers for intrinsic muscle strength measurements In his thesis van der Ploeg noted that most dynamometers have a scale far too crude for measuring forces in very small muscles like the abductor digiti quinti. However, assessing the strength of these muscles is of great importance in clinical neurology in the evaluation of mono- and poly-neuropathies. He noted that there is a need for an accurate device for these muscles. 19 One of the first to develop a dynamometer for the intrinsic muscle strength was Mannerfelt, who later 3
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