Agreement and reliability of two non-invasive methods for assessing cervical range of motion among young adults.
BACKGROUND
Cervical range of motion (CROM) is a fundamental component of the functional evaluation in physical therapy interventions. The CROM device stands out as a reliable, non-invasive and easy-to-use method, but it is a very expensive tool. In clinical practice, more affordable tools such as Fleximeters are preferred. However, the reliability of Fleximeters for the cervical spine has not been adequately tested.


OBJECTIVE
To compare the Fleximeters and the CROM device for the analysis of CROM, and to investigate the intra- and inter-examiner reliability of both tools.


METHODS
Cervical movements (flexion, extension, lateral flexion and rotation) were assessed in 20 asymptomatic young women by three examiners using both tools. The statistical analyses were performed using the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC).


RESULTS
The agreement between the tools was considered moderate for flexion and left rotation (0.71; 0.58) and excellent for all of the other movements (0.76-0.87). The intra-examiner reliability for the CROM device was moderate for flexion and right rotation (0.70; 0.69) and excellent for all of the other movements (0.79-0.88). For the Fleximeter, the agreement was excellent for inclination and right rotation (0.80; 0.77) and moderate for all of the other movements (0.69-0.75). The inter-examiner reliability for the CROM device was excellent for all movements (0.76-0.93) and for the Fleximeter, it was moderate for right and left rotation (0.66; 0.75) and excellent for all of the other movements (0.81-0.88).


CONCLUSIONS
There was agreement between the CROM assessments using the Fleximeter and the CROM device. Furthermore, both devices showed acceptable reliability for clinical practice.
Florêncio
Lidiane L
LL
Department of Biomechanics, Universidade de São Paulo - Ribeirão Preto, Brazil.
Pereira
Patrícia A
PA
Silva
Elaine R T
ER
Pegoretti
Kátia S
KS
Gonçalves
Maria C
MC
Bevilaqua-Grossi
Débora
D
D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015588:Observer Variation; D010808:Physical Examination / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D055815:Young Adult