Sacroiliac joint diagnostics in the Hamburg construction workers study

Background: In the medical literature, test procedures for sacroiliac joint diagnostics are viewed as controversial. The provocation tests are based o n provoked sacroiliac pain, whereas the palpation tests examine the motion of the sacroiliac joint or describe the condition indirectly if limitation of the sacroiliac function is present. It must be presumed that the use of different test results in the detection of varying functional phenomena of a sacroiliac dysfunction or, alternatively, that identical effects of a dys function are evaluated in differing ways. Objective: This article presents results with regard to the consistency of tests for sacroiliac joint dysfunctions carried out on participants from th e building trade. Design and Participants: The consistency of the tests (standing flexion tes t, spine test, iliac compression test, iliac springing test) used in a cros s-section investigation of a cohort of 480 male construction workers is pre sented. To evaluate the degree of consistency of the test procedure the per centage agreement and the kappa value, including a confidence interval of 9 5%, are given. Results: The consistency between the iliac compression test and the three s acroiliac palpation tests could not be shown to be statistically significan t. The consistency between the three palpation tests was moderate to good a nd the percentage agreement was acceptable (87.4%, 88.6%, 80.9%). Conclusions: It may be assumed that the palpation tests characterize the sa me dysfunction of the sacroiliac joint. Standing flexion test, spine test, and iliac springing test seem to be valuable tools for sacroiliac joint dia gnostics.