Open AccessReliability of Measurements of Lumbar Spine Sagittal Mobility Obtained With the Flexible Curve
Author(s) -
James W. Youdas,
Vera J. Suman,
T. J. Garrett
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
the journal of orthopaedic and sports physical therapy/journal of orthopaedic and sports physical therapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.367
H-Index - 121
eISSN - 1938-1344
pISSN - 0190-6011
DOI - 10.2519/jospt.1995.21.1.13
Subject(s) - medicine , sagittal plane , sitting , lumbar , tangent , lumbar spine , orthodontics , trunk , protractor , reliability (semiconductor) , physical therapy , low back pain , physical medicine and rehabilitation , mathematics , geometry , surgery , anatomy , ecology , power (physics) , physics , alternative medicine , pathology , quantum mechanics , biology
Presently, there is no available scientific information that examines the interchangeability of tangent and trigonometric methods used to calculate measurements of sagittal mobility of the lumbar spine obtained with a flexible curve. Repeated measurements of the lumbar curvature were made with a flexible curve by using a standardized protocol on 10 healthy volunteers under three conditions: 1) standing, 2) sitting with maximum trunk forward bending, and 3) lying prone with maximum backward bending. Measurements were made by a team of two physical therapists working together; one therapist instructed the subject, and the other therapist performed the measurement. Agreement between the tangent and trigonometric methods was assessed graphically by plotting the difference between methods against the mean value of each pair of readings for each of the three conditions. Measurements differed by 4 to 7 degrees for each of the three positions of the lumbar spine. We believe such error is clinically acceptable and should not affect the clinical decision made on the basis of the measurement.