Manual Muscle Testing Research Paper

Manual muscle testing

After a therapist has completed the visual assessment and performed a full ROM assessment, the next thing to consider should be the muscle strength and function itself. One of the most widely used techniques to do this is a manual muscle testing.

Muscle testing is an attempt to determine a client’s ability to voluntarily contract an individual muscle. It is used to evaluate the function and strength of the muscle and or muscle groups whilst under a force. The force being applied by the therapist.

Muscle testing is an integral part of physical examination. It provides information that is useful for diagnosis and treatment.

When performing a manual muscle test the therapist should be looking for muscle contraction,

However, closer examination by the therapist would reveal slight muscle contraction through palpation.

Grade 0 (Zero; No trace)

No contraction is noticed, even with physical therapist's palpation (touch).

8) http://www.physicaltherapynotes.com/2010/09/manual-muscle-test-grading.html

Often, MMT grading is subjective, relying on the physical therapist's judgement and skill. At first, you may have difficulty deciding on what grade you are going to give a particular muscle or muscle group, especially with the lower grades. In order to try maintaining an effective and reliable diagnoses it is important to remember some guidelines.

Firstly a common mistake in MMT is to test a group of muscles rather than a specific muscle.

The starting point and the direction of force must be the same each time the muscle is tested. The same amount of force should be applied constantly.

The contact point on the client’s body should be the same on every limb being tested. Is the therapist posture the same through all the tests, i.e., relaxed shoulders, elbow position and stance?

9) http://www.biomedcentral.com/1746-1340/16/16 11)

Regardless of the title or usage the underlying principals are the same. The concept of evidence-based practice is about making sure that when decisions are made they are made on the basis of the most up-to-date, reliable, scientific evidence. When it comes to massage therapy EBP is regarding the decisions we make about our treatment and clients care.

The most common definitions of Evidence-Based Practice is from Dr. David Sackett and Carnwell.

EBP is “the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of the individual patient. It means integrating individual clinical expertise with the best available external clinical evidence from systematic research.” (Sackett D, 1996)

Carnwell defines EBP as ‘[the] systematic search for, and appraisal of, best evidence in order to make clinical decisions that might require changes in current practice, while taking into account the individual needs of the patient.’

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