• Karen M McCreesh, Shakeel Anjum, James M Crotty, and Jeremy S Lewis.
• Department of Clinical Therapies, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.
• J Clin Ultrasound. 2016 Mar 1; 44 (3): 159-66.

PurposeRotator cuff (RC) tendinopathy has been widely ascribed to impingement of the supraspinatus tendon (SsT) in the subacromial space, measured as the acromiohumeral distance (AHD). Ultrasound (US) is suitable for measuring AHD and SsT thickness, but few reliability studies have been carried out in symptomatic populations, and interrater reliability is unconfirmed. This study aimed to examine the intrarater and interrater reliability of US measurements of AHD and SsT thickness in asymptomatic control subjects and patients with RC tendinopathy.MethodsSeventy participants were recruited and grouped as healthy controls (n = 25) and RC tendinopathy (n = 45). Repeated US measurements of AHD and SsT thickness were obtained by one rater in both groups and by two raters in the RC tendinopathy group.ResultsIntrarater and interrater reliability coefficients were excellent for both measurements (intraclass correlation > 0.92), but the intrarater reliability was superior. The minimal detectable change values in the symptomatic group were 0.7 mm for AHD and 0.6 mm for SsT thickness for a single experienced examiner; the values rose to 1.2 mm and 1.3 mm, respectively, for the pair of examiners.ConclusionsThe results support the reliability of US for the measurement of AHD and SsT thickness in patients with symptomatic RC tendinopathy and provide minimal detectable change values for use in future research studies.© 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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