Sport & ContestGreek → English
Isokinetic
/ˌaɪsoʊkɪˈnɛtɪk/adjective
Of exercise or testing in which a joint moves at a fixed speed while the resistance adjusts to match the force applied.
The Greek roots
ἴσος
ísos
equal, the same
κινητικός
kinētikós
of movement
Literally: “equal-moving”
The story of the word
ἴσος, equal, plus κινητικός, of movement. Holding speed constant while force varies cannot be done with a barbell, since gravity does not negotiate; it needs a machine that pushes back exactly as hard as you push. Those dynamometers arrived in the 1960s and the word came with them, which is why isokinetic testing became the standard way to compare a repaired knee with the intact one.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → scientific coinage → English
- First recorded
- 20th century
Same family
isotonicisobarkinetictelekinesiscinema
In a sentence
Isokinetic testing showed the operated leg still down about fifteen percent at nine months.
The clinic keeps one isokinetic rig for the whole rehabilitation department.