Objective: This study is designed for comparison of the clinical usefulness between computerized and manual inclinometer and to find out more reliable and acceptable method in measuring spinal ROM (range of motion).
Method: Twenty healthy volunteers (mean age 23±4) were selected. Spinal ROM was measured by computerized and manual inclinometer twice a week. Data was analyzed with paired t-test and Pearson's correlation test.
Results: There was no significant difference between the measured value of two methods. In the repeated measurement by computerized inclinometer, there was significant reliability of spinal ROM except right rotation of the lumbar spine, and
by
manual inclinometer, there was significant reliability of spinal ROM except cervical left lateral bending, thoracic lateral bending, and lumbar right rotation (p＜0.05). In cases of computerized inclinometer, estimated times to measuring ROM were 8
min
46 sec in cervical spine, 10 min 22 sec in thoracic spine, 9 min 50 sec in lumbar spine, and of manual inclinometer, those were 3 min 27 sec in cervical spine, 5 min 8 sec in thoracic spine, 4 min 35 sec in lumbar spine.
Conclusion: In the measurement of spinal ROM, computerized inclinometer is more reliable than manual inclinometer for its higher reliability, but has a limitation of long measurement time. This study suggest that computerized inclinometer
can be
acceptable tool for accurate measuring spinal ROM.
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