ABSTRACT
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 (xâ=â23.27â+â/-3.29 yrs.) were studied. A one-way repeated measures ANOVA revealed a significant difference in PEFF between positions (F(2,168)â=â144.3, pâ<â0.0001). A significant (pâ<â0.0001) pairwise comparison revealed neutral produced the greatest (28.15â+â/-12.64âkg) and pronation the least PEFF (17.27â+â/-7.40). PEFF was significantly different between position by profession (supination: F(2,82)â=â10.14, pâ<â0.0001; pronation: F(2,82)â=â10.33, pâ<â0.0001; neutral: F(2,82)â=â13.39, pâ<â0.0001). PTs were significantly stronger than OTs and RN students in all forearm positions (pâ<â0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Neutral PEFF was greatest and PT students demonstrated greater PEFF than OT and RN students.