Intra- and inter-reliability of fleximetry in individuals with chronic shoulder pain

Objective: To evaluate the intra- and inter-rater reliability of fleximetry in the measurement of range of motion (ROM) in individuals with chronic shoulder pain. Design: Reliability study. Setting: Physiotherapy clinic. Participants: Thirty individuals of both genders, ages between 18 and 45 years, with chronic shoulder pain. Main outcome measures: Fleximetry was used to measurement shoulder ROM (flexion, hyperextension, abduction, medial and lateral rotation, and horizontal abduction and adduction). Two examiners performed the evaluations of the shoulder ROM at two time points (interval of one week between them). Results: In the intra-rater reliability, substantial to excellent reliability was found, with intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) values ranging from 0.79 to 0.92, standard error of the measurement (SEM) values ranging from 5.70 to 8.72 degrees, and minimum detectable change (MDC) values varying between 15.80 and 25.18 degrees. Regarding the inter-rater reliability, moderate to excellent reliability was observed, with ICC values ranging from 0.68 to 0.96, SEM values ranging from 4.98 to 11.53 degrees, and MDC values ranging from 13.82 to 31.97 degrees. Conclusion: The use of the fleximeter to measure shoulder ROM presents acceptable reliability values in individuals with chronic shoulder pain, which supports the use of this method of evaluation in research and clinical practice. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.