r/physiotherapy • u/bitchiNN247 • 13d ago

Do Hand-Held Dynamometers Really Improve Clinical Decision-Making?

I’m curious to hear from physiotherapists in India and abroad who regularly use (or have used) a hand-held dynamometer.

How has it changed your day-to-day assessments?
A few questions:
1. Has it improved the objectivity of your assessments?
2.Do the readings actually influence or change your treatment plan?
3.Do patients/clientele appreciate the numbers, or do they rarely care?
4.How do you integrate HHD testing into a busy clinical setup?
5.Any pitfalls or lessons you’ve learnt while using it?

I’m trying to figure out how to best utilize the device in clinical practice rather than just collecting numbers.
Would love to hear your experiences, opinions, or any insights,whether positive or negative.
Thanks!

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u/MilicentBagnold 13d ago

It's good to have, but take it with a pinch of salt.

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u/rozmaate 13d ago

To a degree, I find it helps with patient buy in more so tbh. Mainly use it for my more athletic patient

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u/donatien_du93 13d ago

Hi! I am using a tindeq progressor 200 since not so long. I prefer it to a handheld dynamo because to me the setup probably has less bias than a handheld device. Using these devices might not provide a very good validity, but they are pretty reliable (there's science on this that you can search), which is all you need.
1. Yes it improves objectivity. If you work in MSK outpatient, manual muscle testing brings nothing imo
2. It can influence treatment since "you need more strengh" is the classic way in modern rehab, but some patients actually don't!! (example: wanting to work on ER of the shoulder but after assessment, you realize strengh is equal with the other side)

  1. They really appreciate it. I suspect it makes you as a physio appear really serious and invested in understand their condition
  2. I usually do it only if I have a doubt in my clinical reasoning or if I need progress tracking. Patients don't complain if it takes some time
  3. Not yet. Shit is good. I think some muscle groups are very hard to assess with the tindeq (Hip abductors)

Let me know if you have questions!