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  • Use of an isometric mid-thigh pull test during musculoskeletal rehabilitation: can the criterion values from the updated British Army physical employment standards be used to inform UK Defence Rehabilitation practice?

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Original research
Use of an isometric mid-thigh pull test during musculoskeletal rehabilitation: can the criterion values from the updated British Army physical employment standards be used to inform UK Defence Rehabilitation practice?
  1. Vanessa Walters1,2,
  2. RJ Coppack2,3,
  3. RP Cassidy2,4,
  4. C Suffield5,
  5. T Papadopoulou4,6,
  6. J Bilzon1,3 and
  7. P Ladlow1,2
  1. 1 Department for Health, University of Bath, Bath, UK
  2. 2 Academic Department of Military Rehabilitation, Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre (DMRC) Stanford Hall, Loughborough, UK
  3. 3 Versus Arthritis Centre for Sport, Exercise and Osteoarthritis Research, Department for Health, University of Bath, Bath, UK
  4. 4 Centre for Lower Limb Rehabilitation, Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre (DMRC) Stanford Hall, Loughborough, UK
  5. 5 Headquarters, Royal Army Physical Training Corps, Aldershot, UK
  6. 6 British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine, Doncaster, UK
  1. Correspondence to Dr P Ladlow, Academic Department of Military Rehabilitation, Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre (DMRC) Stanford Hall, Loughborough LE12 5QN, UK; peter.ladlow100{at}mod.gov.uk

Abstract

Introduction Objective outcome measures that can quantify the force generating capacity of the lower limb are required to allow clinicians to accurately measure functional status and treatment adaptations over time. The aim of this prospective observational cohort study is to: (1) evaluate the acceptability of the isometric mid-thigh pull (IMTP) test as a measure of functional strength with military personnel undergoing residential hip pain rehabilitation; (2) compare the peak force values recorded against the updated Army physical employment standards (PES) assessment criteria and (3) assess if the minimum PES required of military personnel has the potential to inform clinical decision making and return to duty criteria within UK Defence Rehabilitation.

Methods Acceptability was assessed against patient’s adherence to the testing procedures and test burden. Clinician acceptability was assessed against ease of administration and safety of test procedure. Hip pain was recorded before, immediately following and 1 hour after testing. Net peak force was recorded using portable force plates.

Results Full patient and clinician acceptability to IMTP testing procedures were demonstrated. Minimal changes in visual analogue scale (VAS) pain scores were demonstrated between baseline values at rest and follow-up. Despite being medically downgraded and functionally compromised due to chronic hip pain, 100% of patients met the PES expected on entry to the British Army and 79% met the PES expected at the end of basic training.

Conclusion The IMTP provides rehabilitation clinicians with an objective quantifiable measure of maximum muscle strength that can be used early in the rehabilitation care pathway. Based on our finding, it is unclear if the current British Army PES can be used as a criterion standard in Defence Rehabilitation. Therefore, further research focused on generating clinically relevant patient-specific IMTP score criteria, with a larger sample of diverse diagnostic sub-groups is required.

  • rehabilitation medicine
  • sports medicine
  • hip

Data availability statement

Data are available on reasonable request. All data relevant to the study are included in the article or uploaded as supplementary information.

https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjmilitary-2021-001950

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    Data availability statement

    Data are available on reasonable request. All data relevant to the study are included in the article or uploaded as supplementary information.

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    Footnotes

    • Twitter @JBilzon

    • Contributors VW, RJC and PL conceived the study idea. VW, RJC, RC, TP and PL conceptualised study design. TP had oversight of patient’s rehabilitation care pathway. VW managed data collection and performed the data analysis. VW, RJC and PL wrote the first draft manuscript. All authors contributed to the interpretation of the findings, read, critically reviewed and approved the final version.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

    • Supplemental material This content has been supplied by the author(s). It has not been vetted by BMJ Publishing Group Limited (BMJ) and may not have been peer-reviewed. Any opinions or recommendations discussed are solely those of the author(s) and are not endorsed by BMJ. BMJ disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on the content. Where the content includes any translated material, BMJ does not warrant the accuracy and reliability of the translations (including but not limited to local regulations, clinical guidelines, terminology, drug names and drug dosages), and is not responsible for any error and/or omissions arising from translation and adaptation or otherwise.