Assessment of the Reliability of the Leg Lateral Reach Test to Measure Thoraco-Lumbo-Pelvic Rotation in Individuals With Chronic Low Back Pain

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to evaluate the intrarater and interrater reliability of the Leg Lateral Reach Test (LLRT) to measure the mobility of the thoraco-lumbo-pelvic segment in individuals with nonspecific chronic low back and the correlations among pain intensity, kinesiophobia, and LLRT scores. MethodsThirty participants with nonspecific chronic low back pain were selected. The main variables were LLRT, pain intensity (measured with the Numeric Pain Rating Scale) and kinesiophobia (Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia). The reliability of the LLRT was evaluated by means of intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), standard error of measurement (SEM), minimum detectable change. ResultsMost participants were women (83.3%), young adults (mean = 30.86; standard deviation = 8.56), with overweight and nonspecific chronic low back for more than 59 months of duration. In the intrarater analysis, we observed reliability values ranging from substantial to excellent (ICC ≥ .889; SEM ≤ 7.97%). In the interrater analysis, we observed excellent reliability (ICC ≥ .947; SEM ≤ 5.62%). There was a weak and positive correlation between pain and LLRT, and no correlation between kinesiophobia and LLRT. ConclusionLLRT is a reliable test to measure thoraco-lumbo-pelvic rotation in individuals with nonspecific chronic low back pain.