analysis of intra-ExaminEr rEliability of thE tapE mEthod mEasurE to lEg lEngth discrEpancy

Abstract

Introduction: The aim of this study was to analyze the intra-examiner reliability of the tape method (TM) measure to leg length discrepancy (LLD) on symptomatic and asymptomatic volunteers, and verify if the presence of deformities in low limbs (LL), history of fracture in LL and obesity influence the level of LLD. Materials and Methods: One trained examiner performed measurements of both lower limbs in two different occasions, with an interval of 48 hours between them. The sample consisted of 37 volunteers (28 women and 9 men) characterized as follows: history of fracture of lower limbs (n=5), presence of deformities of lower limbs (n=9), obese (n=9) and asymptomatic (n=14). The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), Pearson’s correlation (reliability of the measures) and t-test for independent samples (influence of symptoms on the level of LLD) were used. Results: While the volunteers had asymptomatic value of r=0.98, symptomatic volunteers were classified as small reliability. Furthermore, there was no difference in the level of severity of DCMI among the volunteers (p>0.05). Discussion: It was concluded that the TM measure to LLD is reliable for your application if include asymptomatic individuals.