Anthropometric parameters as predictors of peak isokinetic torque of knee extension and flexion in the young athlete
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Abstract
Adult isokinetic data are currently normalized for inter-subject comparison by relating peak torque output to body weight. With the increased use of isokinetics in pediatric sports medicine, data are needed to develop an algorithm for inter-subject comparison of the pre-adult population. The purpose of this study was to identify and statistically substantiate the anthropometric variables which best predict knee extension and flexion peak torque in the circumpubertal athletic population. A second objective was to verify the correlation strength of these parameters across a velocity spectrum. Seventy females (x-12.67 years) and sixty-one males (x=l3.39 years) actively participating in organized sports about 15 hours per week, completed maximal bilateral knee extension and flexion tests on a Cybex II device at 60°, 180°, and 300°/second. Standing height, body weight, two site thigh and calf circumferences, and femur, tibia, and true and apparent leg lengths were correlated with the peak torque values obtained from each participant. Factor analyses and stepwise regression identified standing height and body weight as the independent variables which most uniformily represented and best predicted peak isokinetic torque in the 6 to 18 year old sample. Standing height, body weight, and age were used in regression analysis. Standing height was the best single predictor of isokinetic knee extension and flexion peak torque at all speeds, in the physically active 8 to 18 year old males and 6 to 11 year old females. The combination of standing height and body weight was the overall best predictor of isokinetic peak torque of the knee in males and females 12 to 18 years of age. These results suggest that in the physically active child and adolescent, the stage of maturational development with its corresponding muscle growth, as indicated by standing height and body weight, is a better predictor of isokinetic peak torque performance than the individual biomechanical components of the knee.
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Dissertation (Sc.D.)--Boston University
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