BackgroundAnkle dorsiflexor muscle strength is a crucial component of gait.ObjectiveWe describe the development of a simple, hand-held dynamometer to measure the ankle dorsiflexor muscle strength in the sitting position. In addition, we examine its intra- and inter-rater reliability.MethodsMeasurements of the peak ankle dorsiflexor muscle strength were obtained by two examiners for 30 ankles of 15 healthy adults at two time points, with a one-day interval between measurements, to determine the inter- and intra-rater reliability. The intraclass correlation coefficients were calculated, and an intraclass correlation coefficient??0.90 was considered as excellent reliability. A Bland–Altman analysis was used to assess systemic bias. The minimal detectable change in muscle strength was calculated with a confidence level of 95% (MDC95).ResultsThe reliability of the device was excellent for both intra- (intraclass correlation coefficients [1,3]?=?0.94) and inter-rater (intraclass correlation coefficients [2,3]?...
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