Inter- and Intrarater Reliability of a Back Range of Motion Instrument

Abstract

Kachingwe AF, Phillips BJ. Inter- and intrarater reliability of a back range of motion instrument. Objective To examine the interrater and intrarater reliability of a back range of motion (BROM) instrument when measuring lumbar spine active planar motions and pelvic inclination. Design Single-group repeated measures for inter- and intrarater reliability. Setting Academic institution. Participants Ninety-one participants (61 women, 30 men; mean age, 28y) without a current complaint of low back pain volunteered. Intervention Two examiners measured pelvic inclination and all lumbar motions by using the BROM device. Subjects alternated between examiners for 4 complete trials; examiners remained blinded to the measurements. Main Outcome Measures Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were used to determine intrarater and interrater reliability. Regression analysis was performed to determine the role palpation played in sagittal plane measurement error. Results Intrarater reliability for side bending was good (ICC range, .85–.83), lumbar forward flexion and pelvic inclination was good to fair (ICC range, .84–.79), and extension and rotation was fair to poor (ICC range, .76–.58). Interrater reliability was fair to poor for all lumbar motions and for pelvic inclination (ICC range, .79–.55). Less than 2% of the variation in sagittal plane measurements was explained by consistency of palpation for device placement. Conclusions The BROM provides a reliable means of measuring lumbar forward flexion, side bending, and pelvic inclination when performed by the same examiner in asymptomatic subjects.