title: Interrater reliability of a passive physiological intervertebral motion test in the mid-thoracic spine.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the interrater reliability of a passive physiological intervertebral motion (PPIM) test of a mid-thoracic spine motion segment.
  
  
  METHODS
  Nineteen males and 22 females with a mean age of 22.7 years (range, 19-40 years) and no known spinal pathologies were tested independently by 3 certified manual therapy instructors. Investigators performed 3-dimensional segmental mobility testing at a preselected thoracic motion segment. Interrater reliability was assessed with Cohen's kappa statistics, using 3 pairwise comparisons for determination of the direction of lateral flexion leading to the greatest amount of segmental rotation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Percent agreement ranges were 63.4% to 82.5%, with kappa scores ranging from 0.27 to 0.65.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The PPIM testing demonstrated fair to substantial interrater reliability. A majority of females (91%) demonstrated greatest segmental PPIM motion in contralateral rotation with lateral flexion, whereas a majority of males (90%) demonstrated greatest segmental PPIM motion in ipsilateral rotation with lateral flexion. These findings are applicable to asymptomatic subjects of the same age category. Interrater reliability of 3-dimensional PPIM testing is fair to substantial for assessing passive segmental mobility of the mid-thoracic spine.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, Tex 79430, USA. jm.brismee@ttuhsc.edu
authors.forename: Jean-Michel
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Brismée
authors.forename: Dickie
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gipson
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ivie
authors.forename: Angel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lopez
authors.forename: Mandy
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.forename: Omer
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Matthijs
authors.forename: Valerie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Phelps
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sawyer
authors.forename: Phillip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sizer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015588:Observer Variation; D010173:Palpation / Q000379:methods*; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular; D013904:Thoracic Vertebrae / Q000502:physiology*