Interrater reliability of scapular retraction test on rotator cuff related shoulder pain

Abstract

Background: Shoulder pain is one of the most common musculoskeletal conditions that brings individual to the physician. Among shoulder conditions, rotator cuff related shoulder pain (RCRSP) is the most prevalent one. Kibler et al. has developed scapular tests to look for change in symptoms and rotator cuff muscle strength during arm elevation. Scapular retraction test (SRT) is one of them to look for the change in muscle strength and pain during arm elevation in RCRSP. However, the reliability of the SRT is yet to be established. Objective: To establish a inter-rater reliability of SRT in RCRSP subjects. Methodology: A total of 85 subjects suffering from RCRSP were included in the study based on specific selection criteria. Two musculoskeletal physiotherapists with same level of clinical experience performed the tests with an interval period of half an hour. The strength of the muscle was assessed using a handheld dynamometer and the pain was assessed using numerical pain rating scale (NPRS) in the empty can test position with and without scapula retracted position manually. Results: The Intra Class Correlation coefficient for change in muscle strength during SRT was 0.861 with CI95 % (0.793–0.907 < 0.001), which interprets good reliability and for change in pain intensity ICC value was 0.821 with CI 95 % (0.738–0.880 < 0.001), which interprets excellent reliability. Conclusion: The scapular retraction test possesses good reliability for strength and pain intensity changes measured in empty can test position. And the test can be used in clinical practice to assess RCRSP.

Keywords

• shoulder pain
• Scapula
• Reliability
• Muscle strength