The intra-rater reliability of measured thoracic spine mobility in chronic rotator cuff pathology

Objectives: The relationship between thoracic spine dysfunction and painful shoulder pathologies is poorly understood. This study sought to determine the intra-rater reliability of a protocol aimed at assessing the active mobility of the thoracic spine in individuals with chronic rotator cuff pathology. Methods: Ten individuals (6 men and 4 women) with chronic rotator cuff pathology were recruited and screened according to strict criteria. Voluntary active thoracic spine motion was recorded in two planes using a multidimensional motion analysis system. Each assessment was undertaken on two occasions, two days apart. Results: The dominant upper-limb was affected in the majority of cases. There were no statistically significant differences between sessions during measurement of thoracic extension (p=0.93), lateral flexion towards the affected side (p=0.09), and lateral flexion away from the affected side (p=0.38). Intraclass correlation coefficients for each of the thoracic spine movements ranged from 0.968 to 0.995. No significant difference was observed between thoracic lateral flexion between sides. Conclusions: Excellent intra-rater reliability of the test protocol was observed among individuals with chronic rotator cuff pathology. Future studies assessing impairment among these disorders should interpret results in light of these reliability measurements.