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Anatomical Landmark Asymmetry Assessment in the Lumbar Spine and Pelvis: A Review of Reliability
Author(s) -
Stovall Bradley Alan,
Kumar Shrawan
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
pmandr
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.617
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1934-1563
pISSN - 1934-1482
DOI - 10.1016/j.pmrj.2009.11.001
Subject(s) - medicine , reliability (semiconductor) , landmark , cinahl , pelvis , lumbar spine , physical medicine and rehabilitation , lumbar , physical therapy , orthodontics , anatomy , surgery , computer science , artificial intelligence , nursing , psychological intervention , power (physics) , physics , quantum mechanics
The purpose of this article is to review current research investigating the reliability of bony anatomical landmark positional asymmetry assessment in the lumbar spine and pelvis, to determine the agreement on findings between authors, and to explore future directions in the area to address the significant issues. The databases MEDLINE, CINAHL, AMED, MANTIS, Academic Search Complete, and Web of Knowledge were searched. A total of 23 articles were identified and reviewed, 10 of which met the inclusion criteria. For these 10 articles, the average interexaminer reliability for bony anatomical landmark positional asymmetry assessment was slightly above chance for all landmarks except medial malleolus, which had fair reliability. Interexaminer reliability on average was less than intraexaminer reliability (anterior superior iliac spine, k = 0.128/0.414; posterior superior iliac spine, k = 0.092/0.371). All interexaminer reliability averages were below values of clinical significance. From the current literature review, bony anatomical landmark positional asymmetry assessment in the lumbar spine and pelvis has not been demonstrated to be a reliable assessment method. However, there are unexplored factors that, after standardization, may improve reliability and further the understanding of musculoskeletal palpatory examination.