Affiliations: [a] College of Healthcare Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Qld, Australia | [b] College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, Douglas Campus, Townsville, Qld, Australia
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Carol Flavell, College of Healthcare Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Qld, Australia. Tel.: +61 7 4781 6472; Fax: +61 7 4781 6868; E-mail:[email protected]
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Measurement of lumbar spine movement and neuro-dynamic
flexibility is fundamental to clinical examination and forms part of most
systems or protocols used to classify patients with low back pain. However,
the increased age and body mass index reported in the chronic low back pain
subgroup, may compromise the reliability of these measurements.
Specifically, this relates to greater soft tissue excursion relative to the
underlying bony landmarks used for these clinical tests. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this research was to determine the
intra-examiner reliability for six lumbar spine and two neuro-dynamic
examination tests in older and overweight individuals selected to represent
a similar age and body mass index of a chronic low back pain population. METHODS: Nineteen volunteers (56.00 ± 7.62 years) performed
sets of eight lumbar spine examination tests. Five repetitions of each set
of tests were conducted with rest periods between sets. One examiner
measured lumbar flexion, extension, right and left lateral flexion and
rotation using a tape measure. A goniometer was used to measure Slump and
Passive Straight Leg Raise (PSLR) test. RESULTS: Intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCintra)
were calculated to evaluate the reliability of measurement for each test. The
eight tests showed ICC ranges between `Large' and `Nearly Perfect'
(0.68-0.99). Measurement of lateral flexion and rotation had the highest
reliability and extension the lowest. CONCLUSIONS: This study was conducted on an asymptomatic older,
overweight population and the ICC results support the suitability of these
methods and tools for measurement in a clinical setting for this population
demographic. Measurement reliability in the study population was comparable
with previous research in populations of contrasting demographics.
Accordingly, further investigation specifically in a chronic low back pain
population is indicated as the paucity of previous literature for some of
the movement tests disallowed comparisons, and the reliability reported in
this study may not be directly transferable to a chronic low back pain
population.
