The relationship of arm curl test and strength and endurance tests of elbow flexors with hand-held dynamometer in older adults

Abstract

Muscle strength testing by arm curl is a field tests that convenience for testing and widely used in the elderly. However, it is not clear whether this test reflect to the muscle strength or may be associated with muscle endurance. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship of arm curl test with weight lifting and isometric elbow flexion test for the measuring of elbow muscle strength and endurance in elderly. Participants were 60 persons male and female with mean age 65.88 ± 5.10 years. Muscle strength was measured by 30-second arm curl test. Strength and endurance of elbow flexors were measured isometric muscle contraction by hand-held dynamometer (HHD) at 90 degree of elbow flexion. Pearson product moment correlation coefficient was used for analyzing the correlation. The result showed that the strength of arm curl test was positive correlation with HHD test significantly (r= 0.417). There was no correlation of arm curl test and endurance measured by HHD (r = - 0.140) at p-value < 0.05. In conclusion, arm curl test was correlated to elbow flexors strength. This study could be beneficial for the selection of the method for assessing the strength of the upper limb in the elderly.

Key words: Field test, Strength test, Muscular endurance test