Affiliations: [a] Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Health Sciences, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey
| [b] Institute of Health Sciences, Dokuz Eylul University, Izmir, Turkey
| [c] School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, Dokuz Eylul University, Izmir, Turkey
Correspondence:
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Address for correspondence: Devrim C. Sarac, Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Health Sciences, Gazi University, Muammer Yasar Bostanlí Street no: AZ-15, Yenimahalle, Ankara, Turkey. E-mail: [email protected].
Abstract: BACKGROUND:Mobile applications which are designed to assess the range of motion (ROM) are widely used. OBJECTIVE:The aim of this cross-sectional observational study was to determine the inter-observer and intra-observer reliability of a smartphone application “PT Goniometer” (PTG) and determine the correlation between PTG and universal goniometer (UG) regarding active ROMs of the hip in healthy participants. METHODS:Thirty-four healthy young participants were included in the study. Two physiotherapists performed active hip flexion, abduction, internal rotation and external rotation ROM measurements of dominant legs of the participants by using PTG and UG. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were calculated to determine the intra-observer and inter-observer reliability. Level of correlations between PTG and UG were used to establish concurrent validity of PTG. RESULTS:The PTG demonstrated excellent inter-observer and intra-observer reliability (ICC > 0.90) for all measured hip movements. The minimum detectable change (MDC95) was ranged from 3.29° to 5.1° for the intra-observer reliability, and from 2.55° to 3.21° for the inter-observer reliability. Additionally, the concurrent validity was found excellent (r = 0.91–0.93). CONCLUSION:The results of the present study suggest that PTG is a valid and reliable mobile technology for measuring hip ROMs.
Keywords: Hip joint, range of motion, technology assessment, mobile applications
