The Reliability of Myotonometer in Evaluating the Muscle Tone and Biomechanical Properties of the Forearm Muscles

The muscle tone which is a biomechanical property of the forearm muscles will be evaluated with a portable hand-held myotonometer. This myotonometer (MyotonPRO - Tallinn, Estonia) is non-invasive and provides a quantitative assessment of a muscle's biomechanical properties. The MyotonPRO applies a short-intensity mechanical impulse on the skin overlying the muscle or facia. The tissue's response then generates a signal that is recorded, and an internal software program produces an acceleration graph. To determine the feasibility of the MyotonPRO for assessing the muscle tone of forearm muscles measurements will be performed and recorded.

The stiffness which is a biomechanical property of the forearm muscles will be evaluated with a portable hand-held myotonometer. This myotonometer (MyotonPRO - Tallinn, Estonia) is non-invasive and provides a quantitative assessment of a muscle's biomechanical properties. The MyotonPRO applies a short-intensity mechanical impulse on the skin overlying the muscle or facia. The tissue's response then generates a signal that is recorded, and an internal software program produces an acceleration graph. To determine the feasibility of the MyotonPRO for assessing the stiffness of forearm muscles measurements will be performed and recorded.

The elasticity which is a viscoelastic property of the forearm muscles will be evaluated with a portable hand-held myotonometer. This myotonometer (MyotonPRO - Tallinn, Estonia) is non-invasive and provides a quantitative assessment of a muscle's viscoelastic properties. The MyotonPRO applies a short-intensity mechanical impulse on the skin overlying the muscle or facia. The tissue's response then generates a signal that is recorded, and an internal software program produces an acceleration graph. To determine the feasibility of the MyotonPRO for assessing the stiffness of forearm muscles measurements will be performed and recorded.

Handgrip strength will be measured with the JAMAR Hydraulic Hand Dynamometer. Participants will be asked to sit down with knees and hip flexed to 90⁰, forearm in a neutral position, wrist in 0-30⁰ extension, and 0-5⁰ ulnar deviation while on a chair with backrest. During the measurement, the examiner will instruct them to squeeze the handles of the dynamometer as strongly as possible and then let them loose completely, with a loud motivating command. This will be repeated 3 times with 1-minute rest breaks and the average value will be calculated. During the measurements, the Jamar dynamometer will be grasped from the lower and upper parts by the examiner.