Spine
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The interexaminer reliability of an inclinometer procedure to measure lumbar rotation was evaluated by two chiropractic clinicians who examined 25 chronic (greater than 6 months) low-back pain patients and 25 subjects without low-back pain. These groups were compared for differences in mean left, right, and total rotation. Patients who had lumbar spinal surgery were excluded. ⋯ Also, there was significantly more total rotation in the asymptomatic subjects (F = 4.143; df = 1; P less than 0.048). However, because of the large error attributed to this procedure, it is not possible to say whether the difference between the two groups is a result of the large error or some "real" difference. Therefore, the procedure described in this study should not be used as a clinical outcome measure.