THE EFFECT OF EXTRANEOUS MOVEMENTS ON PEAK TORQUE AND CONSTANT JOINT ANGLE TORQUE-VELOCITY CURVES

During isokinetic knee testing, some subjects flex the trunk and contr alateral knee during knee extension and extend the trunk and contralat eral knee during knee flexion. This investigation assessed the effect oi these extraneous movements on peak and constant joint angle torque (15 degrees below horizontal). Twenty-one subjects performed isokineti c knee extensions and flexions at 60, 180, and 300 degrees/sec under s tabilized and nonstabilized conditions. The nonstabilized testing was performed with intentional trunk and contralateral leg movements. The stabilized condition resulted in greater torque values than the nonsta bilized condition for extension and flexion for both peak torque and c onstant joint angle torque. The angle at which flexion peak torque occ urred was further from lull extension at 60 and 180 degrees/sec under the nonstabilized condition, while no differences were found for exten sion. These results indicate that extraneous movements can decrease to rque output, which may be due to changes in muscle length caused by th e extraneous movements.