title: Inter-rater reliability of Rolimeter measurements between anterior cruciate ligament injured and normal contra lateral knees.
abstract: The Rolimeter device can provide measurements of anterior/posterior tibial displacement using maximal manual force. The Rolimeter reliability is still under research when used as an independent knee tester. The purpose of this study is to determine the inter-rater reliability of the Rolimeter measurements between anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injured and normal contra lateral knees. Twelve male patients with ACL deficiency participated in this study. Three physical therapists (PT) performed the Rolimeter measurements in supine position with an approximate 25 degrees flexion of the knees. Each therapist performed three trials on each knee and the difference in results in millimeters between injured knee and normal contra lateral knee was determined. Spearman's rho correlations showed weak relationships between the PT 1, 3 and 2, 3 (PT 1 vs. PT 3 r=0.55, PT 2 vs. PT 3 r=0.57) and the high relation between 1, 2 (PT 1 vs. PT 2 r=0.96) of Rolimeter measurements. Intraclass correlation coefficient showed no significant reliability coefficients among the three PT Rolimeter measurements between ACL injured and normal contra lateral knees (R=0.24, p=0.05). These results reflect the variations among the means of the three physical therapists' Rolimeter measurements between ACL injured and normal contra lateral knees.
authors.affiliation: Physical Therapy Department, TEI of Athens, Greece. mpapandreou@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Maria G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Papandreou
authors.forename: Emmanuel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Antonogiannakis
authors.forename: Christos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Karabalis
authors.forename: Konstantinos
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Karliaftis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000070598:Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries; D002983:Clinical Competence; D006801:Humans; D007593:Joint Instability / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D007718:Knee Injuries / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008422:Materials Testing; D015588:Observer Variation; D010808:Physical Examination / Q000295:instrumentation*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular; D015203:Reproducibility of Results