Isokinetic Muscle Testing

This paper presents a brief summary of the background to the development of isokinetic dynamometry, while reflecting upon some future potential research fields. Among the latter, it is believed that further investigation of methodological issues will continue to be the most central. These would include the design of more advanced testing protocols of both muscle strength and endurance as well as reproducibility of findings derived from their applications. Testing of muscle performance in specific orthopaedic and neurological patient groups will be essential for the enhancement of isokinetics as the standard method in the clinic. To that end, protocols will have to be refined and cutoff values signifying change or stagnation in performance will have to be determined. In addition, issues not directly related to either of these general fields, such as the medicolegal applications of isokinetics for assessing muscular compromise due to pathology or trauma, will be the focus of progressing research.