The reliability and minimal detectable change of shoulder mobility measurements using a digital inclinometer

Abstract

The present study investigated the intrarater reliability, interrater reliability and minimal detectable change at the 90% confidence interval (MDC₉₀) of active shoulder range of motion measurements using digital inclinometry. Two investigators each measured two repetitions of active flexion, abduction, external rotation (ER), and internal rotation (IR) on the nondominant shoulder of 30 asymptomatic participants in a blinded repeated measures design. Results indicated good intrarater reliability with Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICCs) (3, k) of Flexion=0.83, Abduction=0.91, ER=0.94 and IR=0.87. Interrater ICC values (2, k) were moderate to good with Flexion=0.58, Abduction=0.95, ER=0.88 and IR=0.93. The MDC₉₀ for the interrater analysis indicated that a change of equal to or greater than 8° (Flexion), 4° (Abduction), 8° (IR), and 9° (ER) would be required to be 90% certain that the change is not due to intertrial variability or measurement error. Digital inclinometry appears to be a reliable instrument for quantifying normal shoulder mobility when strict measurement protocols are adhered to. Clinicians and researchers should consider the MDC values presented when interpreting change values during subsequent measurement sessions.

Confiabilidade intra e interexaminadores e erro da medição no uso do goniômetro e inclinômetro digital

“…They found high reliability for the digital inclinometer when evaluating the ankle dorsiflexion ROM. These findings agree with the data by Kolberet al 20 , who also reported high ICC levels using the digital inclinometer for shoulder movements.…”

Immediate effects of cervical unilateral anterior-posterior mobilisation on shoulder pain and impairment in post-operative arthroscopy patients

“…Markers were placed at: centero-lateral thorax, one thumb-width distal to the dorsal acromial angle, and the olecranon (Figure 1b and 2b) and by using a commercially available protractor. Four measurements were derived: F-P1, F-EOR, Abd-P1, and Abd-EOR, and were recorded to the nearest degree as the smallest measure available; change ≥5° was considered clinically meaningful improvement [40,41]. Intra-rater reliability for this method was determined by repeat measures three days apart of abduction and flexion EOR for ten randomly-selected subjects' images.…”

Patient perspectives on virtual reality-based rehabilitation after knee surgery: Importance of level of difficulty

“…For assessing knee pain and physical dysfunction, we used numerical pain rating scales (NPRSs) [36], the Lower Extremity Functional Scale (LEFS) [37], the ActivitySpecific Balance Confidence scale (ABC) [38], the SingleLeg Stance (SLS) [39][40], a digital inclinometer (Acumar OC-3053-02, OrthoCanada; Ottawa, Canada) [41][42][43], and a digital handheld dynamometer (MicroFET2, Hoggan Health Industries Inc; Salt Lake City, Utah) [44][45][46]. Details on the objectives for each measurement are described in Table 2.…”