Hand-held dynamometry: adoption 1900-2005.

The purpose of this brief report is to describe the adoption of hand-held dynamometry, a procedure for documenting muscle strength. Between the early 1900s and the end of 2005, 478 research articles were published that documented use of hand-held dynamometry. The adoption of the procedure for research is consistent with the S-shaped curve described by Rogers. The extent to which hand-held dynamometry is used in clinical practice remains to be delineated.