Abstract
BACKGROUND: People with whiplash-associated disorders (WAD) commonly present with a variety of physical impairments. However, the reliability of physical tests has not been established for patients with acute WAD.
OBJECTIVE: To assess test-retest reliability of different physical tests in acute WAD.
DESIGN: Intra-rater test-retest reliability.
METHODS: Patients with acute WAD were recruited. Physical tests were used to evaluate articular, muscular and neural systems in two blocks of measurements separated by 10 min. Bland-Altman plots were performed to assess intrarater agreement, which included calculation of the mean difference (d) between rates, the 95% CI for d, the standard deviation of the differences and the 95% limits of agreement. Reliability was calculated via the standard error of measurement, the minimal detectable change, percent of agreement, the intraclass-correlation coefficient, and kappa coefficient.
RESULTS: 47 patients participated. Test-retest reliability was excellent or good for almost all measures, except for extension ROM, ULTT for the radial nerve, and active cervical extension and upper cervical rotation performed in 4-point kneeling, which presented moderate reliability. Systematic bias was found in cervical ROM in flexion, left and right lateral-flexion, left and right rotation; left ULTT for radial nerve; right trapezius, suboccipitalis and temporalis muscles, left temporalis; C3, both sides of C1-C2, left C3-C4.
CONCLUSION: The majority of physical tests achieved good or excellent test-retest intra-rater reliability when tested in patients with acute WAD. Findings must be considered with caution for those tests which demonstrated systematic bias. Additional research is warranted to evaluate inter-rater reliability.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 102738 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Musculoskeletal Science and Practice |
Volume | 64 |
Early online date | 28 Feb 2023 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Apr 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.Keywords
- Whiplash-associated disorders
- Physical testing
- Test-retest reliability
- Neuromusculoskeletal disorders