Measurement of cervical sensorimotor control: the reliability of a continuous linear movement test
Sarah Michiels1, Ann Hallemans2, Paul Van de Heyning2
1Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium; Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Antwerp University Hospital, Edegem, Belgium.
Background:
Cervical sensorimotorcontrol (cSMC) is traditionally assessed by head repositioning accuracy (HRA) measurements. A disadvantage of the HRA measurements is their static character and lack of visual feedback. In 2008, Sjölander et al. developed a continuous linear movement test (CLMT). This CLMT uses several kinematic parameters, such as reduced range of motion (ROM), velocity and movement smoothness, to quantify altered sensorimotor functions.
Objective:
Investigate the inter and intra rater reliability of a CLMT.
Design:
Reliability study.
Methods:
Fifty asymptomatic adults were recruited. Five outcome measures were obtained: the time (t) needed to perform one movement, variation in time (var-t), ROM, peak velocity (peak-v) and Jerk index (Cj). A 3D analysis of cervical movements during the CLMT was made using ZEBRIS™. MATLAB™ was used to process data provided by the ZEBRIS™ device. These data were used to calculate ICC or κw-values, depending on the normality of the distribution, using SPSS.
Results:
The intra rater reliability shows slight to moderate agreement for t (ICC: 0.19-0.42 and κw: 0.42) and peak-v (κw: 0.27-0.47), moderate to substantial agreement for var-t (ICC: 0.54-0.73) and ROM (ICC: 0.43-0.65) and fair to substantial agreement for Cj (κw: 0.27-0.69). The inter rater reliability shows moderate to almost perfect agreement for t (ICC: 0.54-0.93), almost perfect agreement for var-t (κw: 0.81-0.96) and ROM (ICC: 0.86-0.95), slight to moderate agreement for peak-v (κw: -0.03-0.44) and slight to fair agreement for Cj (κw: 0.00-0.31).
Conclusion:
Time and ROM are presently the most reliable outcome measures. However, it must be noted that the discriminant validity of the time parameters needs further investigation.
