Manual Therapy + Inter-examiner Reliability = Excellent

Manual Therapy + Inter-examiner Reliability = Excellent

Reference:Jull G, Zito G, Trott P, Potter H, Shirley D 1997 Inter-examiner reliability to detect painful upper cervical joint dysfunction. Australian Journal of Physiotherapy 43(2): 125-129

40 subjects with neck pain and headaches participated in this study. Two Physical Therapists manually assessed their upper cervical spines in a single blind manner.

Study Conclusion: There was EXCELLENT (almost complete) agreement between the two therapists on which subjects suffered from ?cervical headaches? and which did not.

Study Conclusion #2: There was 70% agreement between the examiners on the side and the levels of the two most dysfunctional joints.

Clinical Relevance: If done ?right?, manual examination can be a reliable method of diagnosing cervical headaches!

Posted on: January 25, 2002

Categories: Cervical Spine , Relevant Physical Therapy Articles