From the Guidelines

Normal motor strength is crucial for maintaining functional independence, preventing falls, and improving overall quality of life.

Normal motor strength is essential for performing daily activities, such as walking, climbing stairs, and carrying out household chores 1.
It also plays a critical role in preventing falls, which are a common cause of injury and disability, particularly in older adults and individuals with chronic respiratory diseases 1.
Furthermore, normal motor strength is associated with better exercise capacity, health status, and survival in individuals with chronic respiratory diseases, such as COPD 1.

Motor strength can be assessed using various tools, including manual muscle testing, handheld dynamometry, and grip dynamometry 1.
These assessments can help identify individuals with muscle weakness or impaired motor function, who may benefit from targeted interventions, such as resistance training or physical therapy 1.

Resistance training is an effective way to improve muscle strength, mass, and function in individuals with chronic respiratory diseases and other conditions characterized by muscle weakness 1.
It can be tailored to individual needs and abilities, and can be performed using various exercises and equipment, such as free weights, resistance bands, or machines 1.
Resistance training has been shown to improve exercise capacity, health status, and quality of life in individuals with chronic respiratory diseases, and may also help prevent falls and other complications 1.

From the Research

Normal motor strength is essential for various aspects of physical health and daily functioning. The following points highlight its significance:

Normal motor strength is strongly correlated with motor function, as evident from a study on Duchenne muscular dystrophy patients, where total MRC and MFM scores were strongly related to each other 2.
Motor function, which involves muscle strength, is indicative of current physical health status, burden of disease, and long-term health outcomes 3.
Accurate measurement of limb muscle strength is crucial in therapeutic trials to understand the impact of therapy on vital function, particularly in motor neuron diseases 4.
Quantitative assessment of motor performance, including motor strength, is a useful tool for therapy evaluation, quality control, and early detection of movement disorders 5.
Motor strength is also associated with the understanding of concepts and visual representations, with the degree of motor strength relying on motor affordances and associations with past experiences 6.

The relationship between normal motor strength and motor function is well-established, with studies showing that:

Muscle strength and motor function are strongly correlated and seem to decrease proportionally in Duchenne muscular dystrophy 2.
The NIH Toolbox for Assessment of Neurological and Behavioral Function includes motor strength as a key subdomain, along with dexterity, balance, locomotion, and endurance 3.
Quantitative measures of muscle strength have proven to be reliable and sensitive indicators of both disease progression and the impact of experimental therapy in motor neuron diseases 4.

The assessment and measurement of normal motor strength are critical for various applications, including:

Therapeutic trials, where accurate measurement of limb muscle strength is essential 4.
Clinical settings, where standardized apparatus-based quantification of motor performance can be a valuable supplement to rating scales 5.
Research studies, where the measurement of motor strength can provide insights into the understanding of concepts and visual representations 6.