Assessment of the strength of the trunk and upper limb muscles in stroke subjects with portable dynamometry: a literature review

Introduction: Clinical measurements of strength in stroke subjects are usually performed and portable dynamometers are one of the most employed instruments. Objective: To verify the standardization procedures of the methods used to assess the strength of the trunk and upper limb muscles with portable dynamometers in stroke subjects, as well as to assess the psychometric properties which were already investigated. Materials and methods: An extensive search was performed on the MEDLINE, SciELO, LILACS, and PEDro databases, by combining specific key words, followed by active manual searches by two independent researchers. Results and discussion: Fifty-eight studies were included: three related to the trunk and 55 to the upper limb muscles, including handgrip and pinch strength assessments. The most investigated muscular groups were handgrip, elbow flexors/extensors, wrist extensors, and lateral pinch. Nine studies reported adequate reliability * JCM: MSc, e-mail: [email protected] LFTS: Ph.D, e-mail: [email protected] LTA: Grad., e-mail: [email protected] LACS: MSc, e-mail: [email protected] EML: Grad., e-mail: [email protected] CDCMF: PhD, e-mail: [email protected]