ArticlesIntra- and intertester reliability and criterion validity of the parallelogram and universal goniometers for measuring maximum active knee flexion and extension of patients with knee restrictions☆,☆☆,★,★★
Section snippets
Literature review
Over the years, several published studies have addressed the reliability and validity of goniometric measurements. Studies6, 7, 8 have shown that goniometric measurements are more reliable than visual estimates. In addition, research studies have found the UG to have a good overall intra- and intertester reliability. However, most studies found the intratester reliability to be better than the intertester reliability.5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 Overall reliability of the UG was found to be high, though
Subjects
Sixty subjects (34 men, 26 women; mean age, 52yr) with a residual musculoskeletal impairment at the right or left knee were recruited from discharged patient lists obtained from the physiotherapy departments of different institutions: the Ottawa Hospital, General Campus; The Rehabilitation Centre (Ottawa); the Health Care Center of the Canadian Forces Support Unit of Ottawa; the Clinique de physiothérapie l'Envolée; the Physio Sports Care Centre; and the Centre Hospitalier des Vallées de
Results
Table 1 presents descriptive results obtained from the goniometric measurements for active knee flexion and extension.In addition, radiographic measurements and visual estimations are presented (table 1).
The intratester reliability of goniometric measurements was high for the UG and PG when measuring active knee flexion with ICCs of.997 and.996, respectively (table 2).The ICCs for intratester reliability of active knee extension were.972 and.985 for the UG and.953 and.955 for the PG (table 2).
Intratester reliability
The intratester reliability obtained in this study was high for the PG and the UG when measuring active knee flexion and extension on subjects with knee restrictions. The high intratester reliability of the UG supports findings of previous studies.5, 8, 9, 10, 11 The results for the PG correlate with those of a recent study, assessing the reliability of the PG on the knee joint. The differences between the ICCs for the UG and the PG, between testers and positions, were minimal. As previously
Conclusion
Goniometric measurements taken on subjects with impaired knee ROM were found to be very reliable when using either the PG or the UG. However, it is recommended that the same therapist take all the measurements when assessing AROM on a pathologic knee. The PG has been found to be as reliable and valid as the UG, especially when assessing active knee flexion compared with active knee extension. The current study also revealed that it is preferable to use goniometry rather than visual estimations
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Lynn Moore and Marie-Josée Trudel from the Ottawa Hospital, General Site, Department of Radiology, for their dedication to the project. Special thanks to Julie Budd, Simon Bougie, and Shayne O'Donoghue, the therapists involved in the data collection. Finally, we thank Sarah Milne and Mélanie Farmer for their editing and technical support.
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Cited by (0)
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Supported by the Institute of Rehabilitation Research and Development of The Rehabilitation Centre (Ottawa), by the Institute of Functional and Active Rehabilitation, and by the Physiotherapy and the Radiology Departments of the Ottawa Hospital.
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No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit upon the authors or upon any organization with which the author(s) is/are associated.
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Reprint requests to Lucie Brosseau, PhD, Physiotherapy Program, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, 451 Smyth Rd, Ottawa, Ont K1H 8M5, Canada, e-mail: [email protected].
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