title: Reproducibility of cervical range of motion in patients with neck pain.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Reproducibility measurements of the range of motion are an important prerequisite for the interpretation of study results. The aim of the study is to assess the intra-rater and inter-rater reproducibility of the measurement of active Range of Motion (ROM) in patients with neck pain using the Cybex Electronic Digital Inclinometer-320 (EDI-320).
  
  
  METHODS
  In an outpatient clinic in a primary care setting 32 patients with at least 2 weeks of pain and/or stiffness in the neck were randomly assessed, in a test- retest design with blinded raters using a standardized measurement protocol. Cervical flexion-extension, lateral flexion and rotation were assessed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Reliability expressed by the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) was 0.93 (lateral flexion) or higher for intra-rater reliability and 0.89 (lateral flexion) or higher for inter-rater reliability. The 95% limits of agreement for intra-rater agreement, expressing the range of the differences between two ratings were -2.5 +/- 11.1 degrees for flexion-extension, -0.1 +/- 10.4 degrees for lateral flexion and -5.9 +/- 13.5 degrees for rotation. For inter-rater agreement the limits of agreement were 3.3 +/- 17.0 degrees for flexion-extension, 0.5 +/- 17.0 degrees for lateral flexion and -1.3 +/- 24.6 degrees for rotation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In general, the intra-rater reproducibility and the inter-rater reproducibility were good. We recommend to compare the reproducibility and clinical applicability of the EDI-320 inclinometer with other cervical ROM measures in symptomatic patients.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Research in Extramural Medicine, VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. jan.hoving@med.monash.edu.au
authors.forename: Jan Lucas
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Hoving
authors.forename: Jan J M
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Pool
authors.forename: Henk
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: van Mameren
authors.forename: Walter J L M
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Devillé
authors.forename: Willem J J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Assendelft
authors.forename: Henrica C W
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: de Vet
authors.forename: Andrea F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: de Winter
authors.forename: Bart W
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Koes
authors.forename: Lex M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Bouter
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019547:Neck Pain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015588:Observer Variation; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D016037:Single-Blind Method