Effect of knee angle on neuromuscular assessment of plantar flexor muscles: A reliability study

• Published in: PloS one 2018-03, Vol.13 (3), p.e0195220-e0195220
• Main Authors: Merlet, Angèle N, Cattagni, Thomas, Cornu, Christophe, Jubeau, Marc
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adults; Angles; Ankle; Biology and Life Sciences; Coefficient of variation; Correlation coefficient; Correlation coefficients; Electrical measurement; Electromyography; Human health and pathology; Knee; Laboratories; Life Sciences; Mathematical analysis; Mechanical measurement; Medical examination; Medical research; Medicine and Health Sciences; Muscles; Neuromuscular diseases; Physical Sciences; Physiological aspects; Physiology; Plantar fascia; Reliability analysis; Research and Analysis Methods; Statistical methods; Studies; Tissues and Organs; Young adults
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0195220

This study aimed to determine the intra- and inter-session reliability of neuromuscular assessment of plantar flexor (PF) muscles at three knee angles. Twelve young adults were tested for three knee angles (90°, 30° and 0°) and at three time points separated by 1 hour (intra-session) and 7 days (inter-session). Electrical (H reflex, M wave) and mechanical (evoked and maximal voluntary torque, activation level) parameters were measured on the PF muscles. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and coefficients of variation were calculated to determine intra- and inter-session reliability. The mechanical measurements presented excellent (ICC>0.75) intra- and inter-session reliabilities regardless of the knee angle considered. The reliability of electrical measurements was better for the 90° knee angle compared to the 0° and 30° angles. Changes in the knee angle may influence the reliability of neuromuscular assessments, which indicates the importance of considering the knee angle to collect consistent outcomes on the PF muscles.