Article

This was a prospective cohort study. In a previous study, the slopes of the
force-time (F-T) curve were shown to differentiate between maximal and submaximal
grip effort in healthy participants. The objective of the study was to examine if
the slopes of the F-T curve can determine the sincerity of effort in people with
upper extremity injuries. Forty participants with unilateral upper extremity
injury performed maximal and submaximal grip efforts. The F-T curve was recorded,
and the slopes of the force-generation and force-decay phases were calculated.
Repeated-measures analysis of variance revealed significantly steeper slopes for
maximal than those for submaximal efforts. However, receiver operating
characteristic curves showed that, at best, the slope of the force-generation
phase yielded overall error rates of 55% for women and 60% for men. Therefore,
sensitivity and specificity values were insufficient to effectively differentiate
maximal from submaximal efforts. The slopes of the F-T curve did not validly
measure the sincerity of effort in participants with upper extremity injury,
perhaps, because they were protective of their injured hand and, thus, exerted
only submaximal effort even at their best grip attempt. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Not
applicable.
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Langue : ANGLAIS