A RELIABILITY STUDY OF MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES TO DETERMINE STATIC SCAPULAR POSITION

Current shoulder rehabilitation programs encourage scapular stabilizat ion components although, to date, no scientific studies have evaluated changes in scapular position following such rehabilitation. Four diff erent measurement methods of scapular position have been reported in t he literature. The purpose of this study was to examine the intrateste r and intertester reliability of these four methods and to also examin e ii significant differences exist in scapular position between domina nt and nondominant extremities. Thirty-two subjects volunteered for th is study. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) revealed acceptabl e intratester reliability (ICC = 0.81-0.95) for all measurement method s. However, while one method also proved to be acceptable (ICC = 0.91- .92) for intertester measurements, the other three methods were unacce ptable (ICC = 0.18-0.69). One tester reported significant differences in scapular position of the dominant and nondominant extremities when using the most reliable method. The second tester found no significant differences with either method. Future research is recommended to ree xamine reliability of these methods and measure subjects with shoulder pathology.