Reliability Analysis of In-person and Virtual Goniometric Measurements of the Upper Extremity.
Tracy Spigelman, Leah Simpkins, Casey Humphrey and 2 others
PMID 37547842WHAT IT FOUND
Goniometric measurements taken from static screenshots during a virtual visit are as reliable as in-person assessments.
For shoulder, elbow and wrist flexion and extension, clinicians can use a standard goniometer on a captured image to obtain objective range of motion data.
Key findings
01Inter-rater reliability for five of the six in-person measurements and five of the six virtual measurements was classified as excellent, with the remaining measurements rated as good.
02There were statistically significant differences in the absolute degree values recorded between in-person and virtual sessions for five of the six measurements, though elbow extension values did not differ.
03Intra-rater reliability was high for both methods, with a greater number of excellent ICC values observed for virtual measurements compared to in-person measurements.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study used healthy participants with normal range of motion, so it is unknown if the same reliability holds for patients with contractures, pain or neurological impairment. Clothing and posture were not standardized, which may have affected landmark visualization and measurement accuracy. The virtual measurements were taken from static screenshots, not live video, meaning this method requires the patient to hold a position long enough for the clinician to capture the image. Significant differences in absolute values between in-person and virtual sessions mean the two methods are not interchangeable for tracking small changes in range of motion.
Declared interests
The authors report no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that in-person and virtual goniometric measurements yield identical numbers. While the reliability of the method is high, the study found statistically significant differences in the degrees recorded for five of the six movements, meaning you cannot directly compare a screenshot measurement to a previous in-person measurement without accounting for the method change.