Reliability of A Measuring Tape for Assessing Hip Adduction via Ober's Test

Hip adduction is typically assessed via Ober's test, using a handheld goniometer or inclinometer. As an alternative, a measuring tape, is sometimes used for this purpose in clinical settings, but there is currently no evidence to support this method's reliability. # PurposeThe purpose of this study was to evaluate the intra-rater and inter-rater reliability, along with the measurement precision of assessing hip adduction via Ober's test with a measuring tape.

Descriptive reliability study.

A licensed athletic trainer conducted two Ober's tests on each hip of 31 healthy adults (62 hips), 30 minutes apart, and two separate licensed athletic trainers collected measurements of the test using a measuring tape, a handheld goniometer, and a digital inclinometer. Each athletic trainer was blinded to the other's results. An intraclass correlation coefficient was used to assess the inter-rater and intra-rater reliability of each measure.

Measuring tape (R hip: 0.90, L hip: 0.90), handheld goniometer (R hip: 0.80, L hip: 0.83), and digital inclinometer (R hip: 0.86, L hip: 0.90) all demonstrated 'good' inter-rater reliability. Measuring tape (R hip: 0.76, L hip: 0.83), handheld goniometer (R hip: .65, L hip: 0.77), and digital inclinometer (R hip: 0.73, L hip: 0.81) all demonstrated 'moderate' to 'good' intra-rater reliability.

A measuring tape can be used to reliably evaluate hip adduction via Ober's test. Given its relative simplicity and low cost, it may be considered a viable tool for flexibility assessments, where applicable.

Level 3-Reliability study.