Reliability of the universal goniometer for assessing active cervical range of motion in asymptomatic healthy persons

OBJECTIVE: To determine within-rater and between-rater reliability of the universal goniometer (UG) for measuring active cervical range of motion (ACROM) in asymptomatic healthy subjects. METHODS: Nineteen healthy subjects were tested in an identical seated position. Two raters used UG to measure active cervical movements of flexion, extension, right side flexion, left side flexion, right rotation and left rotation. Each motion was measured twice by each of the two raters and was re-measured all over again after one week. Data analysis was performed using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). RESULTS: The results demonstrated excellent within-session (ICC2,1 = 0.83 to 0.98) and between-session (ICC2,2 = 0.79 to 0.97) intra-rater reliability and excellent inter-rater reliability (ICC2,2 = 0.79 to 0.92). CONCLUSION: Considering above results it is concluded that UG is a reliable tool for assessing ACROM in a clinical setting for healthy subjects.