Reliability of the modified-modified Schöber and double inclinometer methods for measuring lumbar flexion and extension.
OBJECTIVE
The primary purpose of this study was to determine the reliability of lumbar flexion and extension range-of-motion measurements obtained with the modified-modified Schöber and the double inclinometer methods on subjects with low back pain.


METHODS
Fifteen patients (8 women, 7 men), aged 25 to 53 years (mean = 35.7, SD = 9.9), with chronic low back pain were measured by three physical therapists with 3 to 12 years (mean = 8.3, SD = 4.7) of clinical experience.


METHODS
The therapists used the modified-modified Schöber and double inclinometer techniques to measure, in random order and on two occasions, the subjects' lumbar flexion and extension.


RESULTS
Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficients for test-retest reliability for the modified-modified Schöber technique varied from .78 to .89 for lumbar flexion and from .69 to .91 for extension; for the double inclinometer method, Pearson correlation coefficients varied from .13 to .87 for lumbar flexion and from .28 to .66 for extension. Analysis of variance-derived intraclass correlation coefficients for interrater reliability for the modified-modified Schöber technique were .72 for flexion and .76 for extension; for the double inclinometer technique, they were .60 for flexion and .48 for extension.


CONCLUSIONS
The modified-modified Schöber method thus appears to be a reliable method for measuring lumbar flexion and extension for patients with low back pain, whereas the double inclinometer technique needs improvement.
Williams
R
R
School of Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy, Hamilton Civic Hospitals, Henderson General Division, Ontario, Canada.
Binkley
J
J
Bloch
R
R
Goldsmith
C H
CH
Minuk
T
T
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017116:Low Back Pain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008161:Lumbosacral Region / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015588:Observer Variation; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities / Q000379:methods*; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular; D015203:Reproducibility of Results