The effect of forearm position on elbow flexion strength in nursing, occupational, and physical therapy students

BACKGROUND: Novice nurses, occupational and physical therapist's injury rates are alarming. OBJECTIVE: To test for differences in peak elbow flexion forces (PEFF) by profession using different forearm positions. METHODS: Entry-level RN, OT, and PT students performed 3-repetitions of standing PEFF in forearm supination, pronation, and neutral. A one-way repeated measures ANOVA determined the forearm position with the greatest PEFF. A one-way ANOVA assessed differences in PEFF between professions. The alpha level was set at p <= 0.05 for all analyses. RESULTS: Thirty 30 RN, 25 OT, and 30 PT students (x= 23.27 +/-3.29 yrs.) were studied. A one-way repeated measures ANOVA revealed a significant difference in PEFF between positions (F(2,168) = 144.3, p < 0.0001). A significant (p < 0.0001) pairwise comparison revealed neutral produced the greatest (28.15 + /-12.64 kg) and pronation the least PEFF (17.27 +/-7.40). PEFF was significantly different between position by profession (supination: F(2,82) = 10.14, p <0.0001; pronation: F(2,82) = 10.33, p <0.0001; neutral: F(2,82) = 13.39, p < 0.0001). PTs were significantly stronger than OTs and RN students in all forearm positions (p <0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Neutral PEFF was greatest and PT students demonstrated greater PEFF than OT and RN students.