The Modified-Modified Schober Test for range of motion assessment of lumbar flexion in patients with low back pain: a study of criterion validity, intra- and inter-rater reliability and minimum metrically detectable change.
OBJECTIVE
The objective was to estimate the psychometric properties of the Modified-Modified Schober Test (MMST).


METHODS
This study compared range of motion measurements of lumbar flexion in low back pain (LBP) patients using the MMST with measurements calculated on X-rays as the gold standard, and compared the measurements taken by two independent examiners.


METHODS
This study was conducted at the main hospital in the Outaouais area, Quebéc, Canada. Thirty-one subjects with LBP from private and public clinics participated in the study. After a warm-up session, measurements with the MMST were taken in neutral position and an X-ray technician took an exposure in the same position.


RESULTS
Pearson's correlation test (r) between measurements made with the MMST and the gold standard, intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC), minimum metrically detectable change (MMDC) and confidence interval (CI) were used to analyze the data. The MMST demonstrated moderate validity (r=0.67; 95%CI 0.44-0.84), excellent reliability (intra: ICC=0.95; 95%CI 0.89-0.97; inter: ICC=0.91; 95%CI 0.83-0.96) and a MMDC of 1 cm.


CONCLUSIONS
In our sample of LBP patients, the MMST showed moderate validity but excellent reliability and MMDC.
Tousignant
M
M
Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Rehabilitation, Physiotherapy Program, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Michel.Tousignant@USherbrooke.ca
Poulin
L
L
Marchand
S
S
Viau
A
A
Place
C
C
D000328:Adult; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017116:Low Back Pain / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D008161:Lumbosacral Region / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D015588:Observer Variation; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities; D011859:Radiography; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular; D015203:Reproducibility of Results