Confiabilidade da fotogrametria em relação a goniometria para avaliação postural de membros inferiores

Abstract

Reliability of photogrammetry in relation to goniometry for postural lower limb assessment Background: Postural assessment and joint range-of-motion measurements are fundamental in diagnosing, planning and following up the evolution and results from physical therapy treatment. These can be done with the aid of goniometry – the most common method in physical therapy practice – and also, through technological advances, by means of photogrammetry. Objective: To investigate the parallel reliability of computerized photogrammetry, using two software tools (Corel Draw and SAPo), in relation to goniometry, in four angles of the lower limbs. Method: Twenty-six asymptomatic volunteers of both sexes, aged between 18 and 45 years, were studied. None of them had leg length discrepancy greater than 1 cm. The tibiotarsal angle (TT), knee flexion/extension angle (F/E), quadriceps angle (Q) and subtalar angle (S) were measured. The measurement was done first with a manual goniometer and then with digital photogrammetry by means of the Corel Draw v. 12 and SAPo v.0.63 software. Results: There were no statistical differences between the three evaluation methods for the TT (p= 0.9991), S (p= 0.2159) and F/E (p= 0.4027) angles. However, for the Q angle there was a significant difference between goniometry and the software used in photogrammetry (p= 0.0067), although there was no significant difference between two software tools (p= 0.9920). This showed that the photogrammetry results were not influenced by the software used. Conclusion: In these healthy young subjects, computerized photogrammetry showed good parallel reliability in comparison with goniometry, for all the angles evaluated except for the Q angle. Therefore, in physical therapy practice, caution is needed in using Q angle measurements coming from different postural assessment methods.