Reliability and Measurement Error of the Qualitative Analysis of Single Leg Loading (QASLS) Tool For Unilateral Tasks.
Gemma N Parry, Lee C Herrington, Allan G Munro
PMID 37885771WHAT IT FOUND
The QASLS tool showed good reliability when the same rater scored the same dancer twice.
However, different raters disagreed frequently on single-leg squats. Clinicians should use it for tracking individual progress over time, but be cautious about comparing scores between different practitioners.
Key findings
01Within-session and between-session reliability for the composite score was moderate to excellent, with intraclass correlation coefficients ranging from 0.67 to 0.93.
02Intra-rater reliability was perfect to excellent, with kappa values between 0.85 and 1.0.
03Inter-rater reliability for the single-leg squat was non-substantial, with kappa values ranging from 0.13 to 0.74.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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 only included healthy, elite female dancers, so the results may not apply to injured patients, men, or adolescent athletes. Raters received no formal training on the QASLS tool, which may explain the poor agreement between them. The operational definitions for knee valgus (inward knee collapse) were similar and potentially confusing, leading to disagreement on those specific items. The sample size was small (14 participants), and one participant was excluded due to video issues.
Declared interests
The authors report no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume QASLS scores are interchangeable between different clinicians. Inter-rater agreement was poor, particularly for single-leg landings. A score of 5 from one therapist is not necessarily the same as a score of 5 from another.