In a collaborative effort with Lafayette Instrument Company in 2005, Dr. Rick Wickstrom (a Licensed Physical Therapist, Certified Professional Ergonomist, and Transitional Work Developer) developed an adjustable strap attachment and applications manual for use with the Lafayette MMT System. This attachment permits measurement of a wide variety of force demands during job analysis without having to carry around more cumbersome equipment such as a push-pull gauge and floor scale.
The resulting adjustable pull strap adjustment would be used in conjunction with the Lafayette MMT to overcome previous design problems that limited the use of hand-held manual muscle testers in fitness or therapy applications:
Inadequate stabilization to ensure the best reliability during strength measurements.
Increased injury risk or undue fatigue to weaker (female) examiners during strength testing of stronger (male) subjects.
Increased injury risk to subject’s using the “break” method whereby the examiner applies force to “break” an isometric contraction, because the subject may not have adequate time to react before reaching unacceptable discomfort.
1.Adjustable Pull Strap/Pad:Attaches to the Lafayette MMT System unit for measurement of one-arm pushing or pulling forces/strengths.
2.Carabineer Hook:Locking oval hook is used to attaches one end of the adjustable strap objects to measure job pull forces or provide additional stability during measurement of strength that requires a horizontal orientation for measurement of large muscle groups, e.g. fixturing to a chair legs during measurement of knee extensors in sitting.
