Objective manual assessment of lumbar posteroanterior stiffness is now possible.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the reliability and criterion-related validity of a revised version of the reference-based protocol for manually assessing lumbar posteroanterior (PA) stiffness. With the revised protocol, a therapist matched the stiffness of the spine to 1 of 11 stiffness references provided by a mechanical device.


METHODS
Two physiotherapists and 41 asymptomatic subjects participated.


METHODS
Subjects' PA stiffness was assessed by the therapists and the Stiffness Assessment Machine(criterion measure) under standardized conditions. The therapists pressed on the subject's spine and then the mechanical device, the task being to match the stiffness of the back to 1 of the 11 stimuli provided by the device. Each of the 11 stiffness stimuli represented a point on the -5 to +5 stiffness scale. Interrater reliability was evaluated with 2-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) intraclass correlation coefficient for a single rating (ICC [2,1]) and the SEM, whereas criterion-related validity was evaluated with the Pearson product moment correlation (r), including the Fleiss correction.


RESULTS
The ICC (2,1) was 0.78 (SEM 0.56), and the criterion-related validity reached 0.74 (Fleiss correction 0.86).


CONCLUSIONS
This research shows that therapists can accurately judge asymptomatic subjects' spinal stiffness using a matching task. We believe that this method may allow therapists to quantify lumbar PA stiffness in clinical practice.
Chiradejnant
Adit
A
School of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney, PO Box 170, Lidcombe, NSW 2141, Australia.
Maher
Christopher G
CG
Latimer
Jane
J
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002684:Chiropractic / Q000379:methods*; D002985:Clinical Protocols; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017116:Low Back Pain / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular / Q000502:physiology*; D012016:Reference Values; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis