title: Interrater reliability of the cervicothoracic and shoulder physical examination in patients with a primary complaint of shoulder pain.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Examine the interrater reliability of cervicothoracic and shoulder physical examination in patients with a primary complaint of shoulder pain.
  
  
  METHODS
  Single-group repeated-measures design for interrater reliability.
  
  
  METHODS
  Orthopaedic physical therapy clinics.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-one patients with a primary complaint of shoulder pain underwent a standardized examination by a physical therapist (PT). A PT conducted the first examination and one of two additional PTs conducted the 2nd examination.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Cohen κ and weighted κ were used to calculate the interrater reliability of ordinal level data. Intraclass correlation coefficients model 2,1 (ICC2,1) and the 95% confidence intervals were calculated to determine the interrater reliability.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The kappa coefficients ranged from -.24 to .83 for the mobility assessment of the glenohumeral, acromioclavicular and sternoclavicular joints. The kappa coefficients ranged from -.20 to .58 for joint mobility assessment of the cervical and thoracic spine. The kappa coefficients ranged from .23 to 1.0 for special tests of the shoulder and cervical spine.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present study reported the reliability of a comprehensive upper quarter physical examination for a group of patients with a primary report of shoulder pain. The reliability varied considerably for the cervical and shoulder examination and was significantly higher for the examination of muscle length and cervical range of motion.
authors: Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Select Medical, Novacare Rehabilitation, Conshohocken, PA, USA. Electronic address: scott.burns@temple.edu.
authors: Scott A
authors: SA
authors: Burns
authors: Department of Physical Therapy, Franklin Pierce University, Manchester, NH, USA; Rehabilitation Services, Concord Hospital, Concord, NH, USA.
authors: Joshua A
authors: JA
authors: Cleland
authors: Adjunct Faculty University of Colorado School of Medicine, Department of Physical Therapy, Aurora, CO, USA; Wardenburg Health Center at the University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA.
authors: Kristin
authors: K
authors: Carpenter
authors: Wardenburg Health Center at the University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA; University of Colorado School of Medicine, Department of Physical Therapy, Aurora, CO, USA.
authors: Paul E
authors: PE
authors: Mintken
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D009333:Neck; D010808:Physical Examination / Q000379:methods*; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular / Q000502:physiology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D020069:Shoulder Pain / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D013909:Thorax
keywords: Neck; Physical examination; Reliability; Shoulder