Department of Physical Therapy Faculty Articles

Inter-rater Reliability of Select Physical Examination Procedures in Patients with Neck Pain

Publication Title

Physiotherapy Theory and Practice

ISSN

1532-5040

Publication Date

7-1-2014

Keywords

Adult, Arthrometry, Articular, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Muscle Strength, Neck Pain, Observer Variation, Physical Examination, Time Factors

Abstract

This study evaluated the inter-rater reliability of select examination procedures in patients with neck pain (NP) conducted over a 24- to 48-h period. Twenty-two patients with mechanical NP participated in a standardized examination. One examiner performed standardized examination procedures and a second blinded examiner repeated the procedures 24-48 h later with no treatment administered between examinations. Inter-rater reliability was calculated with the Cohen Kappa and weighted Kappa for ordinal data while continuous level data were calculated using an intraclass correlation coefficient model 2,1 (ICC2,1). Coefficients for categorical variables ranged from poor to moderate agreement (-0.22 to 0.70 Kappa) and coefficients for continuous data ranged from slight to moderate (ICC2,1 0.28-0.74). The standard error of measurement for cervical range of motion ranged from 5.3° to 9.9° while the minimal detectable change ranged from 12.5° to 23.1°. This study is the first to report inter-rater reliability values for select components of the cervical examination in those patients with NP performed 24-48 h after the initial examination. There was considerably less reliability when compared to previous studies, thus clinicians should consider how the passage of time may influence variability in examination findings over a 24- to 48-h period.

DOI

10.3109/09593985.2013.870267

Volume

30

Issue

5

First Page

345

Last Page

352

Disciplines

Medicine and Health Sciences

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