Abstract
Objectives: Investigate reliability of shoulder internal and external rotation (IR, ER), abduction in internal rotation (ABIR) and combined elevation (CE) range of motion tests in competitive swimmers.
Design: Within participants, inter- and intra-examiner reliability.
Setting: Physiotherapy Department, University of Melbourne, Australia.
Participants: 17 competitive swimmers (aged 12-24 years) who participate in at least 5 weekly swimming sessions and two physiotherapy examiners.
Main outcome measures: Inter- and intra-examiner reliability of IR, ER, ABIR and CE.
Results: Good to excellent intra-examiner reliability across tests (ICCs: 0.85-0.96) with standard error of measurement (SEM)and minimal detectable change at 90% confidence interval (MDC90) ranging from 2 to 5, and 5-12°, respectively. Good to excellent inter-examiner reliability for all tests (ICCs: 0.77-0.94) except left IR (ICC: 0.65). Inter-examiner SEM and MDC90 ranged from 2 to 5° and 5-12°, respectively.
Conclusion: Shoulder range of motion tests were reliable when applied by the same examiner. Inter-examiner reliability was acceptable for all tests except IR, which was affected by inconsistent manual scapula stabilisation between examiners.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 26-30 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Physical Therapy in Sport |
Volume | 21 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Sep 2016 |
Keywords
- Range of motion
- Reliability
- Shoulder
- Swimming