OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the reliability and discriminatory capacity of a novel clinical scale for assessing abdominal muscle coordination. We investigated the interrater reliability of this tool in patients with chronic low back pain (LBP) (reliability section); the ability of this tool to discriminate healthy and LBP subjects (discriminatory section); and the association between the score and measures of pain, disability, and kinesiophobia (correlation section). METHODS: For the reliability section of this study, 14 patients with chronic LBP were included. For the discriminatory section, 10 patients with chronic LBP and 10 pain-free controls were recruited. In the correlation study, data from the 10 chronic LBP patients in the discriminatory section were used. The clinical test was conducted by a blinded examiner while the subjects attempted to independently activate transversus abdominis separate from the rest of the abdominal muscles (hollowing or draw-in maneuver). The intraclass correlation coefficients, receiver operating characteristic curve, and Pearson r correlation coefficients were calculated to assess reliability and validity. RESULTS: An intraclass correlation coefficient((2,1)) of 0.72 (95% confidence interval, 0.33-0.90) was recorded for interrater reliability. The tool correctly identified the subject condition in 97% of the cases. The score did not correlate substantially with any clinical measures, with Pearson r ranging from 0.122 (P = .737) to 0.493 (P = .148). CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that the proposed scale is a reliable tool and may be useful in discriminating patients with chronic LBP from pain-free controls. The poor correlation between the score and clinical measures may be due to the multidimensional nature of chronic LBP.
AD - The George Institute for Global Health, Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia. rafaelzambelli@gmail.com AN - 21924774 BT - Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics DA - 229478235459 ET - 2011/09/20 LA - eng M1 - 8 N1 - Pinto, Rafael ZFranco, Heitor RFerreira, Paulo HFerreira, Manuela LFranco, Marcia RHodges, Paul WResearch Support, Non-U.S. Gov'tUnited StatesJournal of manipulative and physiological therapeuticsJ Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2011 Oct;34(8):562-9. Epub 2011 Sep 15. N2 -OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the reliability and discriminatory capacity of a novel clinical scale for assessing abdominal muscle coordination. We investigated the interrater reliability of this tool in patients with chronic low back pain (LBP) (reliability section); the ability of this tool to discriminate healthy and LBP subjects (discriminatory section); and the association between the score and measures of pain, disability, and kinesiophobia (correlation section). METHODS: For the reliability section of this study, 14 patients with chronic LBP were included. For the discriminatory section, 10 patients with chronic LBP and 10 pain-free controls were recruited. In the correlation study, data from the 10 chronic LBP patients in the discriminatory section were used. The clinical test was conducted by a blinded examiner while the subjects attempted to independently activate transversus abdominis separate from the rest of the abdominal muscles (hollowing or draw-in maneuver). The intraclass correlation coefficients, receiver operating characteristic curve, and Pearson r correlation coefficients were calculated to assess reliability and validity. RESULTS: An intraclass correlation coefficient((2,1)) of 0.72 (95% confidence interval, 0.33-0.90) was recorded for interrater reliability. The tool correctly identified the subject condition in 97% of the cases. The score did not correlate substantially with any clinical measures, with Pearson r ranging from 0.122 (P = .737) to 0.493 (P = .148). CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that the proposed scale is a reliable tool and may be useful in discriminating patients with chronic LBP from pain-free controls. The poor correlation between the score and clinical measures may be due to the multidimensional nature of chronic LBP.
PY - 2011 SN - 1532-6586 (Electronic)0161-4754 (Linking) SP - 562 EP - 9 T2 - Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics TI - Reliability and discriminatory capacity of a clinical scale for assessing abdominal muscle coordination VL - 34 ER -