There are new tools for physical therapists, physicians, and chiropractors every day. Manipulating, developing, and tracking muscle strength are important factors in both wellness and recovery. And physical therapy is growing among healthcare professions, with Physical Therapist and Physical Therapy Assistant ranked among the 10 best healthcare jobs in the country. A rising and effective automatic strength test, dynamometer muscle testing is one of the most accurate methods that physical therapists use for keeping track of developing or recovering muscle strength.

What Is a Dynamometer?

Sometimes referred to by the diminutive “dyno,” a dynamometer for muscle testing is a handheld device which measures the torque applied to it. They are used by physical therapists to test and track the muscle strength of people recovering from various injuries. Dynamometer muscle testing can be used to accurately measure the muscle strength of a broad range of patients and injuries. Dynamometer muscle testing is among the most consistent ways to measure muscle strength.

A dynamometer can test a number of different strength factors and measurements, including muscular extension, rotation, dorsiflexion, rotation, and abduction.

What Is Muscle Strength?

Muscle strength is as simply defined as it seems: it is the force or torque resulting when muscles contract. Healthy muscle strength is a vital part of daily life regardless of a person’s relative activity level.

Relative Muscle Strength and Injury Prevention

Muscles that become weak as a result of injury, improper injury recovery, aging, or other factors can lead to new or further injuries. Diminished strength in a person’s back or core can cause chronic conditions such as sciatica. And injury can result from seemingly unrelated muscle weakness: declined muscle strength in a shoulder, for example, can lead to compensating or overcompensating during activity and result in injuries elsewhere on the body. And muscle weakness can make a person more prone to accidental injuries.

Muscle Strength and Wellness

A person’s relative muscle strength can impact their health in more ways than muscular injuries and diminished motor ability. Healthy muscular strength reduces a person’s risk for osteoporosis, some kinds of arthritis, and many chronic pain conditions, for example. And muscles that are strong and healthy enough for regular exercise indirectly impact the way a person feels, how well and regularly they sleep, and their metabolism. Tracking a patient’s muscular strength with dynamometer muscle testing is crucial not only in preventing illness and injury, but also in maintaining standards of wellness and continuing good health.

Dynamometer Muscle Testing

The key to accurate testing of any kind is a controlled and objective tracking and measuring method. Handheld dynamometers have been proven better at delivering dependable results over a range of tests than any other method. And unlike other methods, dynamometers test a person’s muscle strength against their own results rather against a demographic standard for strength.

For a range of wellness and therapeutic applications, from diagnosis to recovery, muscle strength testing with a dynamometer is a vital element of muscular wellness and maintenance, and among the most accurate and consistent rehab tools and systems. It’s an effective muscle testing machine for physical therapists, physical therapy assistants, physicians of many kinds, and chiropractors.