Abstract
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the reliability of two procedures that assess ankle dorsi/plantar flexion strength among adults 2:65 years of age. Twenty-two older (mean 72.8 years) volunteers completed two testing sessions in which isometric and isokinetic protocols measuring ankle dorsi/plantar flexion strength were performed. The inteNal between the two testing sessions was 1 week. Three maximum isometric trials for dorsi/plantar flexion were collected at each testing session using a hand-held dynamometer. Peak and average isokinetic eccentric and concentric strength were assessed at a test speed of 30 deg/sec using a Kin-Com 500H isokinetic dynamometer (Chattecx Corp., Chattanooga, TN). Intertrial reliability of the isometric measures was found to be high (r = 0.92 to 0.97) at both testing sessions. Test-retest reliability of the isometric procedures ranged from r = 0.76 to r = 0.85, and for isokinetic measures from r = 0.74 to r = 0.93. Both of these procedures yield reliable measures of ankle dorsi/ plantar flexion strength in older adults.