Abstract
In this study, we evaluated the reproducibility and validity of measuring the abductionin-flexion muscle strength of the hip joint in 33 elderly female community residents (mean age: 70.8 ±5.9 years). The reproducibility was determined by calculating the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) based on the test-retest method. As for the validity, Pearson's correlation coefficient was calculated to assess the relationship between the abduction-in-flexion muscle strength of the hip joint, the extension muscle strength of the knee joint, one-leg standing time with eyes open, the Timed Up and Go (TUG) Test, and the Functional Reach Test. As a result, the ICC of measuring the abductionin-flexion muscle strength of the hip joint was 0.851, suggesting high reproducibility. The abduction -in-flexion muscle strength of the hip joint was significantly correlated with the extension muscle strength of the knee joint (r=0.513), one-leg standing time with eyes open (r=0.462), and TUG (r= -0.384). These findings suggested the clinical application of the measurement of the abduction-inflexion muscle strength of the hip joint to test the gross muscle strength, which represents lower extremity muscle strength.
