Assessment of physical fitness of female physical therapy students.

This investigation was undertaken to assess the physical fitness status of physical therapy students. Fifty female students, enrolled as juniors in a physical therapy program of a private women's college, served as subjects. The students' body fat composition, low-backlhamstring flexibility, aerobic capacity (V02 ,. j, trunk muscular endurance, static and dynamic (isotonic) muscular strength were determined. All the tests were administered using standardized procedure. On the average, the subjects were 2 1.1 f 1.7 years old, 65.3 + 0.8 inches tall, weighed 60.1 + 0.9 kg, had 26.2 f 0.8% body fat, and had a predicted VOn, of 2.28 f 0.06 L . min-'. The low-backlhamstring flexibility and trunk muscular endurance were 36.8 + 1.1 cm and 26.4 f 0.9 repetitions, respectively. The static grip strength of the right hand was significantly (p c 0.05) greater than the left hand. The dynamic strength of the arm flexors and knee flexors on the ipsilateral side were not significantly different (p > 0.05). The knee flexors were weaker (p < 0.01) than the knee extensors. Results of the investigation revealed that the students' physical fitness compares well but is not superior to the norms reported previously for female physical therapy students and female college students of the same age. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 1987;8(11):525-532.