Comparison of Isokinetic Testing to Upper Extremity Closed Kinetic Chain Testing in Recreational College Athletes

Background: Clinicians utilize various techniques during the rehabilitation process to ensure that patients can successfully recover from injury. Isokinetic testing and Closed Kinetic Chain testing have both been utilized during this process by various health care practitioners. Through the utilization of data gathered from these tests, clinicians can develop strengthening programs to target specific areas of weakness on the patient. However, there has not been extensive information in the literature regarding if the results from these two modalities correlate and share commonality with each other. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to discern whether data gathered from Isokinetic testing of internal and external shoulder rotational strength correlates with data gathered from the Closed Kinetic Chain Upper Extremity Test in the recreational athlete population. The information gathered from this study can be utilized by health care clinicians in the future to determine how to implement these modalities as part of a rehabilitation protocol for the upper extremity. Methods: Convenience sampling resulted in 14 recreational college-aged athletes who participated in this quantitative study. Informed consent was obtained from each participant upon the initial testing day. The subjects were then guided through the Isokinetic or Closed Kinetic Chain testing protocol depending on which testing session was being conducted. Isokinetic measurements were ascertained from testing speeds of 60 and 180 degrees per second while Closed Kinetic Chain data was gathered from three timed trials of 15 seconds each. Once all the data has been collected from the testing protocols, correlational and regression analyses will be performed to determine whether these two modalities share a commonality. Results: Correlation and Regression analyses determined that there was no statistically significant relationship between Isokinetic and Closed Kinetic Chain Testing. Additionally, hand dominance was proven to have no statically significant relationship Comparison of Isokinetic and Closed Kinetic Chain Testing 3 with Isokinetic measurements. However, bodyweight was shown to have a statistically significant relationship with Isokinetic measurements. Also, through comparisons with established normative data, it was observed that most of the subjects in this study exhibited above average values on both testing modalities. Discussion: The lack of a statistically significant relationship between the two testing modalities contradicts previous literature gathered on these two tests. However, it is likely that the small sample population of this study played a role in affecting this correlational outcome. Despite this finding, it is clear that these modalities are strong indicators of shoulder strength and stability through the comparisons between subject data and literature normative values. Conclusion: These testing modalities can be utilized by clinicians to determine whether their patient possesses optimal upper extremity strength and stability. Through the measurements gained from these tests, the attending clinician can adequately develop a rehabilitation program for their patient. These tests allow the clinician to gain an understanding of the patient’s weak areas and plan accordingly on how to optimally target these areas and make improvements.