title: Intra-rater reliability of rectus abdominis diastasis measurement using dial calipers.
abstract: To date, physiotherapists have relied upon the use of finger widths for measurement of rectus abdominis diastasis (RAD). This method has been proven unreliable, due to variations in finger widths. The intra-rater reliability of dial calipers for measurement of RAD was investigated by this study, using a repeated measures design. Measurements were taken at rest and during contraction on three occasions in 30 postpartum subjects. High reliability was demonstrated for resting and active RAD measurements, (ICC=0.93 and 0.95 respectively). In conclusion, dial calipers are a reliable measuring device when used by a single clinician. Further testing is required to determine inter-rater reliability.
authors.affiliation: School of Physiotherapy, Curtin University of Technology, Shenton Park, WA, 6008, Australia.
authors.forename: Sue
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Boxer
authors.forename: Sue
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jones