A Trend Analysis of the In Vivo Quadriceps Femoris Angle-Specific Torque-Velocity Relationship

Brent L. Arnold, David H. Perrin, David M. Kahler, Bruce M. Gansneder, Joe H. Gieck

To adequately assess isokinetic human muscle performance, it is important for clinicians to understand how the muscle functions across a range of velocities. Thus, the purpose of this study was to reexamine the in vivo quadriceps torque-velocity relationship using trend analysis. Twelve uninjured university-age females performed 3 concentric and eccentric contractions at velocities of 0, 25, 50, 75, 100, 125, 150, 175, and 200°/sec on the Kin-Com isokinetic dynamometer. A trend analysis was performed on the angle-specific torques at 30, 60, and 75° of knee flexion. The results indicated that the concentric and eccentric relationships at 30° and the concentric relationship at 60° were represented by a third-order polynomial, and a linear relationship was found for concentric contractions at 75°. There were no significant trends for the eccentric relationship at 60 and 75°, suggesting that they were best described by the grand mean. These results suggest that muscular torque production varies across velocities and contraction modes and that this relationship varies depending on the joint angle of torque measurement.

J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 1997;25(5):316-322.

Key Words: dynamic muscle strength, knee, joint angle

View Full Article