Article

The standardized Mensendieck test (SMT) was developed to quantify posture,
movement, gait, and respiration. In the hands of an experienced therapist, the
SMT is proven to be a reliable tool. It is unclear whether posture, movement,
gait, and respiration are related to the degree of functional disability in
patients with chronic pain.
The objective of this study was to assess the
reliability and convergent validity of the SMT in a heterogeneous sample of 50
patients with chronic pain. METHODS: Internal consistency was determined by
Cronbach's alpha and interrater reliability by the intraclass correlation
coefficient (ICC). Convergent validity was assessed by determining the Spearman
rank correlation coefficient between the movement quality measured in the SMT and
functional limitation measured on the disability rating index (DRI). RESULTS: The
internal consistency was Cronbach's alpha 0.91. Substantial reliability was found
for the items: movement (ICC = 0.68), gait (ICC = 0.69), sitting posture (ICC =
0.63), and respiration (ICC = 0.64). Insufficient reliability was found for
standing posture (ICC = 0.23).
A moderate correlation was found between average
test score SMT and the DRI (r = -0.37) and respiration and DRI (r = -0.45).
DISCUSSION: The SMT is a reasonably reliable tool to assess movement, gait,
sitting posture, and respiration. None of the items in the domain standing
posture has sufficient reliability. A thorough study of this domain should be
considered. The results show little evidence for convergent validity. Several
items of the SMT correlated moderately with functional limitation with the DRI.
These items were global movement, hip flexion, pelvis rotation, and all respiration items.

Langue : ANGLAIS