World J Phys Rehabil Med | Volume 5, Issue 1 | Research Article | Open Access
Christopher H Wise* and James M O’Donohue
Department of Physical Therapy, Alvernia University, USA
*Correspondance to: Christopher H Wise
Fulltext PDFOrthopedic Manual Physical Therapy (OMPT) has not enjoyed an abundance of evidence supporting its efficacy. Skill acquisition in the performance of manual interventions requires the development of new patterns of motor performance. Feedback and practice time have been identified as the most important variables in skill acquisition. The Mobil-Aider® provides feedback in a timely and precise fashion and may be helpful in the development of new psychomotor skills.
The purpose of this study was to assess the intra-rater and inter-rater reliability of the Mobil-Aider® in measuring linear translation during posterior glides of the shoulder and volar glides of the wrist in healthy, unimpaired participants within two independent investigators.
A posterior glide of the shoulder was performed in supine with a mobilizing wedge stabilizing the scapula. For the wrist, a volar glide was performed in sitting with the forearm supported in pronation. For both mobilization techniques, a series of three Grade IV accessory glides were performed.
There were 32 participants (16 males, 16 females) with a mean age of 24.81 years. For the shoulder: Intra-rater reliability was 0.691 (good) for investigator 1 and 0.789 (excellent) for investigator 2; inter-rater reliability was 0.546 (fair). For the wrist: intra-rater reliability was 0.932 (excellent) forinvestigator 1 and 0.917 (excellent) for investigator 2; inter-rater reliability was 0.462 (fair).
These results have implications for assessment of joint mobility in clinical practice by establishing the reliability of a device designed to quantify joint linear translation. This device may be useful during examination in providing objective data that can be used to identify mobility deficits and objectify changes in response to joint mobilization procedures. Further, these results may also provide important data used to guide the application of joint mobilization by serving to standardize the quantity of joint translation associated with a specific mobilization grade. This will improve the consistency with which joint mobilization is performed.
Wise CH, O’Donohue JM. Intra-Rater and Inter-Rater Reliability of the Mobil-Aider® Device for Measurement of Linear Translation: Implications for Clinical Practice and Teaching. World J Phys Rehabil Med. 2021; 5(1): 1019..