Variability of unilateral and bilateral isometric muscle strength of lower extremities extensors in young females and males.

BACKGROUND: The muscle strength of the lower extremity extensors can be evaluated in the closed kinetic chain (CKC) during unilateral or bilateral conditions. Factors such as the mass and length of the muscle, joint angle, type of contraction, and gender influence the magnitude of the muscle strength. The aim of this study was to compare the isometric strength of lower extremity extensors between the different knee extension angles (KEs) as well as between bilateral and unilateral conditions.

METHODS: Nineteen female students (age: 20.2 ± 0.6 years) and nineteen male students (age: 20.3 ± 0.7 years) participated in the study. The muscle strength was evaluated in CKC using the strain gauge dynamometer. The analysis included values of the maximum muscle strength normalized to body mass (MS/BM) for the six KEs of 80°, 70°, 60°, 50°, 40° and 30°.

RESULTS: A significant main effect in the MS/BM values for the angle factor (p < 0.001) and condition factor (p < 0.001) was found. Moreover, there was a non-significant interaction effect between the angle factor and gender factor (p = 0.476) as well as between the condition factor and gender factor (p = 0.770). Comparisons showed significant differences in the MS/BM values between the six KEs (p < 0.001). Furthermore, significantly lower MS/BM values for bilateral conditions than unilateral conditions at the 30° KE were observed (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION: The decrease in KE by 10° significantly increased the muscle strength of the lower extremity extensors. Gender did not affect the change in MS/BM values with the change in KE and conditions. Findings also revealed significant bilateral deficit, i.e., significantly a lower summed muscle strength during bilateral conditions than unilateral conditions. The study emphasized the importance of selecting the 30° KE as the optimal angle to assess the maximum strength developed in CKC.