Adjacent Joint Restriction Differentially Influences Intra- and Inter-rater Reliability and Agreement of Goniometric Measurements.
Brendan L Pinto, Tatjana Stankovic, David M Frost and 1 others
PMID 35136697WHAT IT FOUND
Goniometer measurements were not consistently better or worse when adjacent joints were restricted.
When the same rater repeated measurements, reliability stayed good to excellent. Between raters, restriction made some ankle measurements less reliable and some hip and shoulder measurements more reliable.
Key findings
01Adjacent joint restriction changed goniometer reliability and error differently across the tests, not in a consistent direction.
02For the same rater, goniometer reliability stayed good to excellent even when restriction changed some measurements.
03Between different raters, restriction lowered ankle dorsiflexion reliability from fair to poor, raised hip extension on both sides and left shoulder flexion from poor to fair, and raised left MTPJ1 flexion from fair to good.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study used a convenience sample of healthy participants, so it may not show how goniometry behaves in patients with conditions that affect muscle flexibility. The study did not measure reliability across days. A research assistant positioned participants, but repositioning consistency was not objectively verified. An outlier shoulder flexion value was kept in the analysis.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that adjacent joint restriction improves goniometry overall. It changed reliability differently by test and by rater, and it reduced inter-rater reliability for ankle dorsiflexion.