PERSPECTIVE article
Front. Rehabil. Sci.
Sec. Rehabilitation for Musculoskeletal Conditions
Strength vs endurance in myotome assessment – a case for (further studies on) repeated measurements
Alexia Coulombe-Leveque 1,2
Nicolas Dehors 1,2
René Pelletier 3
François Cabana 1,2
Jean-Pierre Dumas 1
Guillaume Léonard 1,2
1. Universite de Sherbrooke Faculte de Medecine et des Sciences de la Sante, Sherbrooke, Canada
2. Institut Universitaire de Geriatrie de Sherbrooke Centre de Recherche sur le Vieillissement, Sherbrooke, Canada
3. CBI-Concordia Physiosport, Brossard, Canada
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Abstract
Myotome testing is often used to detect radiculopathy in patients with low back pain and radiating leg pain. While myotomes are typically assessed by testing the strength of maximum voluntary contraction, some authors suggest endurance should also be assessed, through sustained and/or repeated contractions. Repeated (n=7) strength tests of the big toe extensor were conducted in two patients with confirmed L5 radiculopathy. Rank-sum tests were conducted for each participant to determine whether their affected leg was weaker. Weakness was observed in both patients with radiculopathy (P1 & P2); however, while weakness was apparent from the first trial in participant P1, it only became detectable after repeated trials in participant P2. Our results suggest that myotome assessment could, in some cases, benefit from repeated strength trials, although further research is needed to confirm the robustness of this conclusion. Additional studies should be conducted in individuals with confirmed radiculopathy to further investigate whether some patients with no immediate weakness show a strength deficit after repeated trials.
Summary
Keywords
Fatigue, Low-back pain, Lumbar radiculopathy, Muscle endurance, Muscle Strength, myotome assessment, Physiotherapy, weakness
Received
21 July 2025
Accepted
19 February 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Coulombe-Leveque, Dehors, Pelletier, Cabana, Dumas and Léonard. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Guillaume Léonard
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