Interrater and Intrarater Reliability and Validity of 3 Measurement Methods for Shoulder-Position Sense

Abstract

CONTEXT: Joint-position sense (JPS) plays a critical role in the stability of shoulder joint. Restoration of JPS is essential to improve rehabilitation outcomes in individuals with shoulder injury. However, the number of affordable and reliable shoulder-JPS measurement methods for everyday clinical practice is limited. OBJECTIVE: To estimate reliability and validity of 3 simple shoulder-JPS measurement methods. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. PARTICIPANTS: 25 healthy men and women. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Absolute-error scores of JPS in 3 ranges of shoulder flexion (low, mid, and high), measured with a laser pointer, an inclinometer, and a goniometer in 2 separate sessions (48 h apart). RESULTS: Overall interrater and intrarater intraclass correlation coefficients were .86 and .78 for the laser pointer, .67 and .70 for the inclinometer, and .60 and .50 for the goniometer, respectively. There was excellent reliability in the low range for the laser pointer and inclinometer methods, but fair to good and poor reliability in mid- and high ranges, respectively. All methods showed strong validity. CONCLUSION: The laser pointer and inclinometer JPS measurement methods are reliable and can be used by clinicians during rehabilitation of shoulder injuries.