Abstract
Objectives
Traditional methods of assessing joint range of motion (ROM) involve specialized tools
that may not be widely available to clinicians. This study assesses the reliability
and validity of a custom Smartphone application for assessing hip joint range of motion.
Design
Intra-tester reliability with concurrent validity.
Methods
Passive hip joint range of motion was recorded for seven different movements in 20
males on two separate occasions. Data from a Smartphone, bubble inclinometer and a
three dimensional motion analysis (3DMA) system were collected simultaneously. Intraclass
correlation coefficients (ICCs), coefficients of variation (CV) and standard error
of measurement (SEM) were used to assess reliability. To assess validity of the Smartphone
application and the bubble inclinometer against the three dimensional motion analysis
system, intraclass correlation coefficients and fixed and proportional biases were
used.
Results
The Smartphone demonstrated good to excellent reliability (ICCs > 0.75) for four out of the seven movements, and moderate to good reliability for the
remaining three movements (ICC = 0.63–0.68). Additionally, the Smartphone application displayed comparable reliability
to the bubble inclinometer. The Smartphone application displayed excellent validity
when compared to the three dimensional motion analysis system for all movements (ICCs > 0.88) except one, which displayed moderate to good validity (ICC = 0.71).
Conclusions
Smartphones are portable and widely available tools that are mostly reliable and valid
for assessing passive hip range of motion, with potential for large-scale use when
a bubble inclinometer is not available. However, caution must be taken in its implementation
as some movement axes demonstrated only moderate reliability.
Keywords
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to Journal of Science and Medicine in SportAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
- Hip joint range of motion restriction precedes athletic chronic groin injury.J Sci Med Sport. 2007; 10: 463-466
- Limitation of hip joint movement as a factor in traumatic osteitis pubis.Br J Sports Med. 1978; 12: 129-133
- Hip joint range of motion reduction in sports-related chronic groin injury diagnosed as pubic bone stress injury.J Sci Med Sport. 2005; 8: 77-84
- Risk factors for injuries in football.Am J Sports Med. 2004; 32: 5S-16S
- Effectiveness of active physical training as treatment for long-standing adductor-related groin pain in athletes: randomised trial.The Lancet. 1999; 353: 439-443
- The effect of Cam FAI on hip and pelvic motion during maximum squat.Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2009; 467: 645-650
- Validity and test-retest reliability of manual goniometers for measuring passive hip range of motion in femoroacetabular impingement patients.BMC Muscoskel Disord. 2010; 11: 194
- Reliability of inclinometer and goniometric measurements of hip extension flexibility using the modified Thomas test.Physiother Theor Pract. 2008; 24: 135-141
- Smartphone app use among medical providers in ACGME training programs.J Med Syst. 2012; 36: 3135-3139
- Validity of the Microsoft Kinect for assessment of postural control.Gait Posture. 2012; 36: 372-377
- Measuring the Cobb angle with the iPhone in kyphoses: a reliability study.Int Orthop. 2012; 36: 1655-1660
- The TiltMeter app is a novel and accurate measurement tool for the weight bearing lunge test.J Sci Med Sport. 2013; 16: 392-395
- Intrarater test–retest reliability of hip range of motion and hip muscle strength measurements in persons with hip osteoarthritis.Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2008; 89: 1146-1154
- Quantitative analysis of the relative effectiveness of 3 iliotibial band stretches.Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2002; 83: 589-592
- Comparing methods of measurement.Clin Exp Pharmacol Physiol. 1997; 24: 193-203
- A note on the use of the intraclass correlation coefficient in the evaluation of agreement between two methods of measurement.Comput Biol Med. 1990; 20: 337-340
- Foundations of clinical research: applications to practice.3rd ed. Pearson/Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey2009
- Effect of skin movement artifact on knee kinematics during gait and cutting motions measured in vivo.Gait Posture. 2006; 24: 152-164
- Biomechanics of the knee: methodological considerations in the in vivo kinematic analysis of the tibiofemoral and patellofemoral joint.Clin Biomech. 1999; 14: 595-611
- A three-dimensional MRI analysis of knee kinematics.J Orthop Res. 2004; 22: 283-292
Article info
Publication history
Published online: April 26, 2014
Accepted:
April 17,
2014
Received in revised form:
April 4,
2014
Received:
October 14,
2013
Identification
Copyright
© 2014 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
