Select Page

Inter-Examiner Reliability of Leg Length Inequality Assessments

 

Mitzi Schwartzbauer DC Bio & John Hart DC, MHSc Bio 

Annals of Vertebral Subluxation Research ~ July 11, 2011 ~ Pages 51-56

 

Abstract

Introduction: Chiropractic leg length inequality (LLI) tests are used as a method of assessing, among other clinical aspects, the presence of some type of neurological disturbance thought to be related to vertebral subluxation. This study assesses inter-examiner reliability of four LLI procedures and hip extension procedure.

 

Methods: Two blinded examiners assessed the same 30 participants once for the five procedures. The kappa statistic was applied to determine the level of agreement. A kappa score of 0.40 or greater was considered as acceptable agreement.

 

Results: The prone hip/leg extension test exhibited a kappa score of 0.482 while the other LLI procedures showed kappa scores < 0.20.

 

Conclusion: In this study, only the prone hip/leg extension assessment revealed acceptable repeatability. Further research is warranted to verify these findings.

 

Keywords: Leg length inequality, chiropractic, inter-examiner reliability

To view the full article, Subscribe or Login
Back
Sign Up for our Free Newsletter!

Sign Up for our Free Newsletter!

Get updates on chiropractic research, news, and other information important to you and the chiropractic profession.

You have Successfully Subscribed!