Elbow and hand muscle strength are not affected by head-neck position

This investigation was conducted to examine the influence of head and neck (H-N) position in the transverse plane on the static muscle strength of elbow flexion and extension and hand grip. Subjects were 36 apparently healthy young females (23-36 years). Strength was measured instrumentally. The strength of each action was measured twice on both sides on each of two days about one week apart. Separate analysis of variance procedures applied to each action of each side (eg left hand grip) demonstrated no significant effect of HN position, trial, or day. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) showed intertrial and interday reliability to be high (ICCs = 0.96 - 0.99). This study provides no evidence that H-N position needs to be considered when testing the upper extremity strength of neurologically intact women. The study confirms the reliability of both hand-held and hand grip dynamometry.