Objectives: To evaluate intra-rater and inter-rater reliability and measurement error in glenohumeral range of motion (ROM) measurements using a standard goniometer.
Study design: 17 adult subjects with and without shoulder pathology were evaluated for active and passive range of motion. Fifteen shoulder motions were assessed by two raters to determine reliability. The intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC) were calculated and examined to determine if reliability of ICC ≥ 0.70 existed. The standard error of measurement (SEM) and the minimal clinical difference (MCD) were also calculated.
Results: Thxe criterion reliability was achieved in both groups for intra-rater reliability of standing AROM abduction; supine AROM and PROM abduction, flexion, external rotation at 0° abduction; and for inter-rater reliability of supine AROM and PROM abduction, external rotation at 0° abduction. The SEM ranged from 4°-7° for intra-rater and 6°-9° for inter-rater agreement on movements that achieved the criterion reliability. The MCD ranged from 11°-16° for a single evaluator and 14°-24° for two evaluators.
Conclusions: Assessment of AROM and PROM in supine achieves superior reliability. The use of either a single or multiple raters affects the number of movements that achieved clinically meaningful reliability. Some movements consistently did not achieve the criterion and may not be the best movements to monitor treatment outcome.
Keywords: Reliability; shoulder goniometric measurement.