The Modified-Modified Schober Test for range of motion assessment of lumbar flexion in patients with low back pain: a study of criterion validity, intra- and inter-rater reliability and minimum metrically detectable change

• Published in: Disability and rehabilitation Vol. 27; no. 10; p. 553
• Main Authors: Tousignant, M, Poulin, L, Marchand, S, Viau, A, Place, C
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 20.05.2005
• Subjects: Adult; Disability Evaluation; Female; Humans; Low Back Pain - diagnosis; Low Back Pain - diagnostic imaging; Low Back Pain - physiopathology; Lumbosacral Region - physiopathology; Male; Observer Variation; Physical Therapy Modalities; Radiography; Range of Motion, Articular; Reproducibility of Results
• ISSN: 0963-8288
• DOI: 10.1080/09638280400018411

The objective was to estimate the psychometric properties of the Modified-Modified Schober Test (MMST). This study compared range of motion measurements of lumbar flexion in low back pain (LBP) patients using the MMST with measurements calculated on X-rays as the gold standard, and compared the measurements taken by two independent examiners. This study was conducted at the main hospital in the Outaouais area, Quebéc, Canada. Thirty-one subjects with LBP from private and public clinics participated in the study. After a warm-up session, measurements with the MMST were taken in neutral position and an X-ray technician took an exposure in the same position. Pearson's correlation test (r) between measurements made with the MMST and the gold standard, intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC), minimum metrically detectable change (MMDC) and confidence interval (CI) were used to analyze the data. The MMST demonstrated moderate validity (r=0.67; 95%CI 0.44-0.84), excellent reliability (intra: ICC=0.95; 95%CI 0.89-0.97; inter: ICC=0.91; 95%CI 0.83-0.96) and a MMDC of 1 cm. In our sample of LBP patients, the MMST showed moderate validity but excellent reliability and MMDC.