Intra- and interobserver reproducibility of Cybex EDI 320 measuring spinal mobility

The purpose of the present study was to conduct intra- and interobserver reproducibility tests of the measurement of spinal movement using an electronic digital inclinometer (Cybex EDI 320). Sixteen healthy subjects with no history of back pain were tested. Their mean age was 28.5 years (range 24-34). After palpation of reference points and a standard warming-up procedure, three repetitions of maximal ventral, dorsal, and lateral flexion were performed for measurements of lumbar and thoracolumbar movements. Intra- and interobserver reproducibility were conducted with 2-5 days interval. The coefficient of variance in the intraobserver test for ventral and lateral flexion varied between 4.3 and 10.1%, in the two interobserver tests between 3.4 and 13.8%. However, the coefficient of variance in intra- and interobserver tests for dorsiflexion varied between 18.1 and 27.6%.