title: Test-retest, inter- and intra-rater reliability of the flexicurve for evaluation of the spine in children.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The early evaluation of the spine in children is desirable because it is at this stage of development that the greatest changes in the body structures occur.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine the test-retest, intra- and inter-rater reliability of the Flexicurve instrument for the evaluation of spinal curvatures in children.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty children ranging from 5 to 15 years of age were evaluated by two independent evaluators using the Flexicurve to model the spine. The agreement was evaluated using Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICC), Standard Error of the Measurement (SEM), and Minimal Detectable Change (MDC).
  
  
  RESULTS
  In relation to thoracic kyphosis, the Flexicurve was shown to have excellent correlation in terms of test-retest reliability (ICC2,2=0.87) and moderate correlation in terms of intra-(ICC2,2=0.68) and inter-rater reliability (ICC2,2=0.72). In relation to lumbar lordosis, it was shown to have moderate correlation in terms of test-retest reliability (ICC2,2=0.66) and intra- (ICC2,2=0.50) and inter-rater reliability (ICC=0.56).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This evaluation of the reliability of the Flexicurve allows its use in school screening. However, to monitor spinal curvatures in the sagittal plane in children, complementary clinical measures are necessary. Further studies are required to investigate the concurrent validity of the instrument in order to identify its diagnostic capacity.
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciência do Movimento Humano, Escola de Educação Física, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Escola de Educação Física, Porto Alegre RS , Brazil.
authors.forename: Juliana A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Sedrez
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciência do Movimento Humano, Escola de Educação Física, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Escola de Educação Física, Porto Alegre RS , Brazil.
authors.forename: Cláudia T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Candotti
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Fisioterapia, Escola de Educação Física, UFRGS, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, UFRGS, Escola de Educação Física, Porto Alegre RS , Brazil.
authors.forename: Maria I Z
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Rosa
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Fisioterapia, Escola de Educação Física, UFRGS, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, UFRGS, Escola de Educação Física, Porto Alegre RS , Brazil.
authors.forename: Fernanda S
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Medeiros
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciência do Movimento Humano, Escola de Educação Física, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Escola de Educação Física, Porto Alegre RS , Brazil.
authors.forename: Mariana T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Marques
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciência do Movimento Humano, Escola de Educação Física, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Escola de Educação Física, Porto Alegre RS , Brazil.
authors.forename: Jefferson F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Loss
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D015588:Observer Variation; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013121:Spinal Curvatures