Relationship between Peak Torque, Work, and Power for Knee Flexion and Extension in Clients with Grade I Medial Compartment Sprains of the Knee.

Abstract

Past research has reported a high level of correlation between peak torque (PT) and work and between PT and power in the muscles surrounding normal and selected pathological knees. No research to date has examined whether such similarities exist in clients with pathology to the medial compartment of the knee. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the isokinetic parameters of PT, work, and power for the flexor and extensor muscle groups of patients with grade I medial compartment knee sprains. Isokinetic data were collected from 77 patients (41 males, 36 females; mean age 24.6 yrs) on a Merac dynamometer at the speeds of 60, 180, 300, and 420 degrees /set. The ranges of Pearson correlations between PT and work and between PT and power were 0.75-0.96 for the involved knee flexors, 0.67-0.99 for the involved knee extensors, 0.76-0.98 for the uninvolved knee flexors, and 0.85-0.97 for the uninvolved knee extensor muscles. These findings suggest that PT is representative of work and power and may be the only necessary parameter for isokinetic muscle performance testing of the flexor and extensor muscles of the knee in clients with grade I medial compartment sprain. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 1992;16(6):288-292.