Assessing the Interrater Reliability of Goniometric Measurements of a Range-of-motion Battery

Limited information exists on the interrater reliability (IRR) of range-of-motion (ROM) measurements that are deemed relevant for future clinical and research applications. Addressing these gaps was the primary motivation of this thesis. Thirty participants had their ROM capacity measured by three raters using a manual goniometer. Both with and without imposing uni-articular and multi-articular constraints on ROM, ankle dorsiflexion, first metatarsophalangeal dorsiflexion, hip flexion and extension, and shoulder flexion ROM were measured. Relative and absolute consistency was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC[2,k]) and standard error of measurements (SEM), respectively. All measurements exhibited good or excellent IRR (ICC >0.6) except the multi-articular measure of ankle dorsiflexion. SEM values ranged from a low of 3.7째 to a high of 7.2째. Results suggest that all measures, with the exception of multi-articular ankle dorsiflexion, exhibit adequate levels of IRR to be used for future clinical and research purposes.M.Sc