Assessment of inter-rater and intra-rater reliability of cervical range of motion (CROM) goniometer

Purpose: The current study was designed to assess inter-rater and intra-rater validity of cervical range of motion measurements performed with CROM goniometer. Material and methods: The study involved 95 healthy university students (31 males and 64 females) aged 20-24 years. Two examiners performed measurements of cervical range of motion using CROM goniometer. The same subjects were examined again after two weeks, in the same conditions. The results acquired by one rater during the first and the second examination were compared for reproducibility, while the results obtained by the two examiners were compared to assess validity and reliability of the tool. Cronbach’s alpha was applied to determine intra-rater reliability, and the values of correlations were used to assess the inter-rater agreement. Results: Analysis of the results showed both intra-rater and inter-rater agreement in all the measures of cervical range of motion. The highest intra-rater and inter-rater concordance was observed in the measure of extension. Intra-rater agreement for Examiner 1 was reflected by Cronbach’s alpha = 0.85, and for Examiner 2 by Cronbach’s alpha = 0.89. As for the inter-rater agreement in the measure of extension, the value of correlation in both the first and the second measurement amounted to r= 0.89. Conclusions: Measurements performed with CROM goniometer show inter-rater and intra-rater agreement in assessments of cervical range of motion. CROM goniometer can be recommended for use in daily clinical practice.