The effects of motor learning on clinical isokinetic performance of postmenopausal women

Objective: To analyze the effects of motor learning on knee extension-flexion isokinetic performance during clinical isokinetic evaluation of postmenopausal women. Methods: One-hundred and twenty postmenopausal women (60.3 +/- 3.2 years; BMI = 27.6 +/- 4.7 kg/m(2)) without knee pain or injury and that never underwent isokinetic testing, were submitted to two bilateral knee extension-flexion (concentric-concentric) isokinetic evaluation (5 repetitions) at 60 /s (Biodex (TM) Multi-joint System 3 dynamometer). The tests were first performed in the dominant leg, with a 1-min recovery between them, and after a standardized warm-up that included 3 submaximal isokinetic repetitions. The same procedure was repeated in the non-dominant leg. Peak torque (PTQ) was adjusted for body weight (PTQ/BW), total work (TW), coefficient of variation (CV) and agonist/antagonist (agon/antag) ratio was compared between tests. Results: Subjects showed greater levels (P < 0.001) of PTQ PTQ/BW and TW, and lower CV levels (P < 0.01) in test 2 of both legs. Agon/antag ratio did not change significantly between tests. Conclusions: PTQ PTQ/BW, TW and CV improved in the second knee extension flexion isokinetic testing of postmenopausal women. The results suggests that performing two tests, even with a short period of recovery between them, could be considered for reducing motor learning effects on clinical isokinetic evaluation of knee joint in postmenopausal women. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.