title: Measurement of cervical sensorimotor control: the reliability of a continuous linear movement test.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cervical sensorimotorcontrol (cSMC) is traditionally assessed by head repositioning accuracy (HRA) measurements. A disadvantage of the HRA measurements is their static character and lack of visual feedback. In 2008, Sjölander et al. developed a continuous linear movement test (CLMT). This CLMT uses several kinematic parameters, such as reduced range of motion (ROM), velocity and movement smoothness, to quantify altered sensorimotor functions.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Investigate the inter and intra rater reliability of a CLMT.
  
  
  METHODS
  Reliability study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty asymptomatic adults were recruited. Five outcome measures were obtained: the time (t) needed to perform one movement, variation in time (var-t), ROM, peak velocity (peak-v) and Jerk index (Cj). A 3D analysis of cervical movements during the CLMT was made using ZEBRIS™. MATLAB™ was used to process data provided by the ZEBRIS™ device. These data were used to calculate ICC or κw-values, depending on the normality of the distribution, using SPSS.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The intra rater reliability shows slight to moderate agreement for t (ICC: 0.19-0.42 and κw: 0.42) and peak-v (κw: 0.27-0.47), moderate to substantial agreement for var-t (ICC: 0.54-0.73) and ROM (ICC: 0.43-0.65) and fair to substantial agreement for Cj (κw: 0.27-0.69). The inter rater reliability shows moderate to almost perfect agreement for t (ICC: 0.54-0.93), almost perfect agreement for var-t (κw: 0.81-0.96) and ROM (ICC: 0.86-0.95), slight to moderate agreement for peak-v (κw: -0.03-0.44) and slight to fair agreement for Cj (κw: 0.00-0.31).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Time and ROM are presently the most reliable outcome measures. However, it must be noted that the discriminant validity of the time parameters needs further investigation.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium; Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Antwerp University Hospital, Edegem, Belgium. Electronic address: sarah.michiels@uantwerpen.be.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Michiels
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium; Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Antwerp University Hospital, Edegem, Belgium; Multidisciplinary Motor Centre Antwerp, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: Ann
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hallemans
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium; Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Antwerp University Hospital, Edegem, Belgium; Multidisciplinary Motor Centre Antwerp, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Van de Heyning
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium; Multidisciplinary Motor Centre Antwerp, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Truijen
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Antwerp University Hospital, Edegem, Belgium.
authors.forename: Gaetane
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Stassijns
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Antwerp University Hospital, Edegem, Belgium; Faculty of Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium; Multidisciplinary Motor Centre Antwerp, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: Floris
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wuyts
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: Willem
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: De Hertogh
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D009334:Neck Muscles / Q000502:physiology; D011187:Posture / Q000502:physiology*; D011434:Proprioception / Q000502:physiology; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular / Q000502:physiology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
keywords: Cervical spine; Measurement; Reliability; Sensorimotor control