title: Intra-rater and inter-rater reliability of the 10-point Manual Muscle Test (MMT) of strength in children with juvenile idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (JIIM).
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Children with juvenile idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (JIIM) present with muscle inflammation and decreased strength that may affect their functional abilities. The purpose of this study was to determine the intra-rater and inter-rater reliability of the 0 to 10-point manual muscle testing method for children with JIIM.
  
  
  METHODS
  For the intra-rater and inter-rater reliability studies, 10 and 9 children with JIIM participated, respectively. For intra-rater reliability, one pediatric therapist completed two assessments in one day with a one-hour break. For inter-rater reliability, four therapists assessed the same child within a single morning.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Spearman correlations for intra-rater reliability ranged from 0.70 to 1.00. Kendall's W coefficient for inter-rater reliability of groups of muscles (total, proximal, distal, and peripheral) ranged from 0.51 to 0.76.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The total, proximal, and peripheral Manual Muscle Test (MMT) score, using the 0-10 point scale, has acceptable reliability in JIIM patients.
authors.affiliation: National Institutes of Health, Rehabilitation Medicine Department, Bethesda, MD 20892-1604, USA. mina_jain@nih.gov
authors.forename: Minal
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jain
authors.forename: Michaele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Holly
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cintas
authors.forename: Deloris
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Koziol
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wesley
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Harris-Love
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lovell
authors.forename: Lisa G
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Rider
authors.forename: Jeanne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hicks
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D053580:Muscle Strength; D009220:Myositis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D015588:Observer Variation; D026761:Physical Therapy Specialty; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric