NIH PubMed Abstract of Belgium study to assess the intra- and interobserver reliability and reproducibility of goniometry and visual estimation of ankle joint range of motion measurements in children with spastic cerebral palsy.
Statistical analysis showed a high reliability for intra- and interobserver measurements (r>0.75), between visual estimation and goniometry (correlation coefficient, r>0.967; concordance coefficient, r>0.957). Both visual estimation and goniometry ankle range-of-motion measurements are reliable and reproducible in spastic cerebral palsy children if a strict but simple protocol is applied.
NIH PubMed Abstract - Testing range of motion in cerebral palsy. Objective of study was to To propose a standardized test of joint range of motion in paediatric patients with cerebral palsy, based on the opinion of a cerebral palsy specialist group (physicians, physiotherapists and surgeons) and literature review. Study concluded that a standardized testing of lower-limb-joint range of motion will allow for better communication between clinicians and will facilitate the development of a database. Care should be taken in the interpretation of the joint range-of-motion test results and realized only after reliability analysis of the test, especially interobserver reliability. A further step would be to develop an outpatient booklet for cerebral palsy that shows growth and weight curves, joint range-of-motion curves and curves of the principal radiographic measurements during growth.
U.S National Library of Medicine - NIH National Institutes of Health Medline Plus - Range of Motion and Cerebral Palsy - Definition, Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment
Editor, researcher, and writer for CPFamily Network. Mom to 4 great kids oldest of whom is daughter, Danielle, 25yo, Spastic Quadriplegia Cerebral Palsy.