Reliability and Validity of Inline Dynamometry Study for Measuring Knee Extensor Torque

April 11, 2025 updated by: Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

A Prospective Cross-sectional Study to Determine the Reliability and Validity of Inline 'Pull' Dynamometry for Measuring Peak Knee Extensor Torque in Patients Following Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Reconstruction: HRA & HCRW Approval Issued.

This study will investigate the reliability and validity of an inline 'pull-type' dynamometer for measuring peak knee extensor torque. For the reliability study, healthy volunteers will be assessed by two assessors (inter-rater) at the index testing session, with testing repeated by one assessor one week later (test-retest). Validity will be investigated against isometric electromechanical dynamometry (gold standard) in patients following anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This is a prospective, cross sectional study using a within-participant, repeated measures design. The inter-rater and test-retest reliability of the KForce Link (pull-type dynamometer) will be determine using 50 healthy subjects. The validity of the KForce Link will be determined using 52 post-operative ACL reconstruction patients against the gold standard of isometric electromechanical dynamometry (Cybex). All testing will be performed isometrically with the knee positioned at 60 degrees knee flexion. Assessors and participants will be blinded to the scores until testing is complete.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

102

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United Kingdom
    • Merseyside
      • Liverpool, Merseyside, United Kingdom, L9 7AL
        • Aintree University Hospital

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Participant is willing and able to give informed consent for participation in the study.
  • Male or Female, aged 18 years or above.
  • No contraindications to maximal force testing (see exclusion criteria).
  • For the ACL reconstruction participant cohort: diagnosed with ACL injury that was managed with ACL reconstruction surgery, with or without additional meniscal surgery. If medicated, stable dose of current regular medication for at least 4 weeks prior to study entry.
  • For the healthy control participant cohort: no current or previous history of significant lower limb injury, or a history of previous minor injury that is symptomatic at the time of recruitment. No previous lower limb surgery. No course of medication, whether prescribed or over the counter, other than vitamins and mineral supplements or, for females, oral contraceptives.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Unable to provide written consent to study participation, or there are contraindications to maximal force testing, including the following:

    • History of chronic disease or disorder that may put the participants at risk because of participation in the study including non-united fractures, epilepsy, cardiac insufficiency, severe peripheral vascular disease, aneurysms, anticoagulant therapy, recent (<3 months) radiotherapy or chemotherapy, long term steroid use (>3 months), pregnancy, neurological disorders (e.g., Parkinson's disease), skin conditions at point of force testing, severe osteoporosis, malignancy, rheumatoid arthritis.
  • Conditions or symptoms that may influence the result of the study, or the participant's ability to participate in the study including pain, limited range of motion, knee effusion, or anaemia.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Kforce Link
Other: KForce Link
Traction (pull-type) dynamometer

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Peak Knee Extensor Torque Measured in Newton Metres Per kg (Nm/kg)
Time Frame: 30 minutes
Peak knee extensor force (N) multiplied by lever length (m), normalised to body weight (kg)
30 minutes

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Pain During Testing on a Numerical Rating Scale (0-10)
Time Frame: 45 weeks
Numerical rating scale of pain from 0 to 10, with 0 indicating no pain (better outcome) and 10 indicating worst pain possible (worse outcome).
45 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Richard Norris, BSc, Aintree University Hospital

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

September 20, 2021

Primary Completion (Actual)

August 1, 2022

Study Completion (Actual)

August 2, 2022

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 21, 2021

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 25, 2021

First Posted (Actual)

November 5, 2021

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 1, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 11, 2025

Last Verified

May 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • SP0558

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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