Manosan P: Reliability of the universal and invented gravity goniometers in measuring active cervical range of motion in normal healthy subjects

This study examined the intra- and inter-rater reliability of the universal goniometer (UG) and invented gravity goniometer (GG) in measuring active cervical range of motion (ACROM) in 20 asymptomatic healthy subjects. Two raters randomly used both devices to measure active cervical flexion (F), extension (E), right lateral flexion (RLF) and left lateral flexion (LLF)). Each motion was measured twice by each device and was re-measured all over again within 2 weeks. The intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) for intra-rater reliability of measurement obtained with both devices were high to very high (ICC = 0.80 to 0.99 for UG and 0.90 to 0.99 for GG). The inter-rater reliability of measurement obtained with the GG (ICC = 0.85 to 0.96) were higher than those obtained with UG (ICC = 0.71 to 0.94). In conclusion, this study suggest that the GG measurement may be more advantage to UG measurement for assessing four ACROM in clinic setting. This is due to the high reliability and easier measurement procedures. 1