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Inter- and intrarater reliability of a back range of motion instrument
Aimie F Kachingwe1, Beth J Phillips
1Department of Physical Therapy, California State University, Northridge, CA 91330-8411, USA. aimie.kachingwe@csun.edu
Objective:
To examine the interrater and intrarater reliability of a back range of motion (BROM) instrument when measuring lumbar spine active planar motions and pelvic inclination.
Design:
Single-group repeated measures for inter- and intrarater reliability.
Setting:
Academic institution.
Participants:
Ninety-one participants (61 women, 30 men; mean age, 28 y) without a current complaint of low back pain volunteered.
Intervention:
Two examiners measured pelvic inclination and all lumbar motions by using the BROM device. Subjects alternated between examiners for 4 complete trials; examiners remained blinded to the measurements.
Main Outcome Measures:
Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were used to determine intrarater and interrater reliability. Regression analysis was performed to determine the role palpation played in sagittal plane measurement error.
Results:
Intrarater reliability for side bending was good (ICC range, .85-.83), lumbar forward flexion and pelvic inclination was good to fair (ICC range, .84-.79), and extension and rotation was fair to poor (ICC range, .76-.58). Interrater reliability was fair to poor for all lumbar motions and for pelvic inclination (ICC range, .79-.55). Less than 2% of the variation in sagittal plane measurements was explained by consistency of palpation for device placement.
Conclusions:
The BROM provides a reliable means of measuring lumbar forward flexion, side bending, and pelvic inclination when performed by the same examiner in asymptomatic subjects.
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