Ann Rehabil Med.  2019 Dec;43(6):707-719. 10.5535/arm.2019.43.6.707.

Determining the Reliability of a New Method for Measuring Joint Range of Motion Through a Randomized Controlled Trial

• Ahn SY
• Ko H
• Yoon JO
• Cho SU
• Park JH
• Cho KH

• KMID: 2468697
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5535/arm.2019.43.6.707

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
To compare the reliability and validity of the Korean range of motion standard protocol (KRSP) for measuring joint range of motion (ROM) with those of the conventional ROM measurement using a goniometer.
METHODS
We conducted a randomized controlled trial involving 91 healthy elderly individuals. We compared two strategies of measuring joint ROM to evaluate the reliability and validity of each standardized protocol: first, the KRSP based on the Chungnam National University guidelines and second, handheld goniometric measurement. In the first strategy, 3 examiners (1 rehabilitation doctor, 1 physical therapist, and 1 physical therapy student) independently measured joint ROM in 46 randomly selected subjects; in the second strategy, another 3 examiners (1 rehabilitation doctor, 1 physical therapist, and 1 physical therapy student) measured joint ROM in 45 randomly selected subjects. The reliability of each protocol was calculated using intraclass correlation coefficient, ICC(2,1), and root mean square error (RMSE).
RESULTS
Both protocols showed good to excellent intra-rater reliability. With goniometer use, the inter-rater reliability was low"”ICC(2,1), 95% confidence interval ranged from 0.643 (0.486-0.783) to -0.078 (-0.296-0.494)"” and RMSE was high. With the KRSP, the inter-rater reliability ranged from 0.846 (0.686-0.931) to 0.986 (0.972-0.994) and RMSE was low.
CONCLUSION
ROM measurements using the KRSP showed excellent reliability. These results indicate that this protocol can be the reference standard for measuring ROM in clinical settings as an alternative to goniometers.

Keyword

Range of motion; Reference standard; Joints; Measures

MeSH Terms

Aged
Chungcheongnam-do
Humans
Joints*
Methods*
Physical Therapists
Range of Motion, Articular*
Rehabilitation
Reproducibility of Results

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1. Flow diagram of the randomized controlled trial. LOM, range of motion; KRSP, Korean range of motion standard protocol.

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