• Spine · Feb 2014

    Assessments of lumbar flexion range of motion: intertester reliability and concurrent validity of 2 commonly used clinical tests.

    • Hilde Stendal Robinson and Anne Marit Mengshoel.
    • From the Department of Health Sciences, Institute of Health and Society, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
    • Spine. 2014 Feb 15;39(4):E270-5.

    Study DesignCross-sectional.ObjectiveTo compare intertester reliability and concurrent validity of 2 frequently used methods for assessing lumbar flexion range of motion: the fingertip-to-floor distance (FFD) test and the modified Schober (mSchober) test.Summary Of Background DataAn assessment of lumbar flexion range of motion is often incorporated in the clinical evaluation of patients with low back pain, as well as in clinical studies when examining the effects of different therapies on these patients. In both cases, the validity and reliability of assessment methods are important.MethodsThe FFD test and the mSchober test were used in a heterogeneous study sample (n = 98) including patients with low back pain, pelvic girdle pain, and individuals without pain in either of these areas. Each participant was examined by 2 of 3 randomly selected assessors on the same day. Intraclass correlation coefficient3,1, together with the Bland and Altman plot, were used to examine intertester reliability. Absolute reliability was calculated by the smallest detectable change. The relationship between the 2 tests was measured using Pearson correlation coefficient (r), which was used as the measure of concurrent validity.ResultsThe FFD test and the mSchober test showed an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.93 and 0.77, and a smallest detectable change of 9.8 and 1.8 cm, respectively. There was a medium negative correlation between the 2 tests; an increase in the mSchober test resulted in a decrease in the FFD test (r = -0.47, P ≤ 0.001).ConclusionIn our heterogeneous study sample, the FFD and the mSchober test showed excellent intertester reliability but with a relatively large smallest detectable change. However, the medium correlation between these 2 tests to measure lumbar flexion range of motion indicates that they do not fully assess the same phenomenon and hence should be used in combination when examining patients.Level Of Evidence2.

      Pubmed     Full text   Copy Citation     Plaintext  

      Add institutional full text...

    Notes

     
    Knowledge, pearl, summary or comment to share?
    300 characters remaining
    help        
    You can also include formatting, links, images and footnotes in your notes
    • Simple formatting can be added to notes, such as *italics*, _underline_ or **bold**.
    • Superscript can be denoted by <sup>text</sup> and subscript <sub>text</sub>.
    • Numbered or bulleted lists can be created using either numbered lines 1. 2. 3., hyphens - or asterisks *.
    • Links can be included with: [my link to pubmed](http://pubmed.com)
    • Images can be included with: ![alt text](https://bestmedicaljournal.com/study_graph.jpg "Image Title Text")
    • For footnotes use [^1](This is a footnote.) inline.
    • Or use an inline reference [^1] to refer to a longer footnote elseweher in the document [^1]: This is a long footnote..

    hide…