Affiliations: [a] University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
Note: [*] Doctoral candidate in Sports Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, at the time of this study. now Assistant Professor, Department of Physical Therapy, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA.
Note: [**] Address reprint requests to Douglas R. Keskula, Department of Physical Therapy, School of Allied Health Sciences, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA 30912-0800.
Note: [***] Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Athletic Training Education and Research at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA.
Abstract: The purpose of this investigation was to determine the effect of test protocol on concentric and eccentric torque production of the rotators of the shoulder. Twenty-eight female subjects were randomly assigned to participate in either a continuous (no pause between concentric and eccentric contractions) or interrupted (5-second pause between contractions) measurement protocol. A Kin-Com dynamometer (Chattecx Corp., Hixson, TN) was used to obtain average torque measurements at 60 and 180 deg/sec for the shoulder rotators. Analysis of variance determined that there were no significant (p > 0.05) differences in average torque between test protocols for either muscle group. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) ranged from 0.57 to 0.88 for the continuous protocol and from 0.83 to 0.94 for the interrupted protocol. Standard error of measurement estimates ranged from 0.7 to 1.5 Nm for the continuous protocol and from 0.5 to 1.4 Nm for the interrupted protocol. The results of this investigation demonstrate no differences in torque production between continuous and interrupted test protocols, although the interrupted measurement protocol provides greater reliability and precision of measurement than the continuous protocol when assessing torque production of the rotators of the shoulder.
Keywords: Rest interval, shoulder internal/external rotation, test reliability
