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Reliability of assessing patellar alignment: the A angle
M Ehrat1, J Edwards, D Hastings
1Physical Therapy Department, Terre Haute Regional Hospital, IN 47802.
The Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy
|January 1, 1994
Summary
The A angle, a new method for assessing patellar alignment, showed poor reliability in this study. Further research is needed to determine if the A angle can be a dependable clinical tool for evaluating patellar position.
Area of Science:
- Orthopedics
- Biomechanics
- Clinical assessment
Background:
- Anterior knee pain syndrome is a common clinical challenge.
- Patellar malalignment is a potential contributing factor.
- The A angle is a recently proposed clinical method to assess patellar malalignment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the intrarater and interrater reliability of the A angle measurement.
- To determine the reproducibility of the A angle technique for assessing patellar alignment.
Main Methods:
- Thirty-six subjects were included in the study.
- Three raters performed two measurements on each knee (N=70).
- Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and standard error of measurements (SEM) were calculated.
Main Results:
- Intrarater reliability for the A angle was poor, with ICCs ranging from 0.20 to 0.32.
- Interrater reliability for the A angle was also poor, with an ICC of -0.01.
- The A angle measurements demonstrated significant variability and lack of reproducibility.
Conclusions:
- The A angle, as assessed in this study, is not a reliable tool for measuring patellar position.
- Further validation and refinement are necessary before the A angle can be clinically adopted.
- The findings highlight the need for more reliable methods to assess patellar alignment in anterior knee pain.