Systematic review of the measurement properties of performance-based functional tests in patients with neck disorders
Michele Sterling,
Pierre Côté,
Samuel A McLean,
Luke Connelly,
Tonny Elmose Andersen,
Steven McGee,
Taylor Sipos,
Thomas Allin,
Celia Chen,
Alexandra Greco,
Pavlos Bobos,
Joy MacDermid,
Anne Söderlund,
Michele Curatolo,
James M Elliott,
David M Walton,
Helge Kasch,
Linda Carroll,
Hans Westergren,
Gwendolen Jull,
Genevieve Grant,
Joy C MacDermid,
Mandy Nielsen,
Trudy Rebbeck,
Annick Maujean,
Sarah Robins,
Kenneth Chen,
Julia Treleaven
Affiliations
Michele Sterling
NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Road Traffic Injury Recovery, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Pierre Côté
professor
Samuel A McLean
1 Institute for Trauma Recovery, The University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
Luke Connelly
Department of Sociology and Business Law, The University of Queensland, Centre for the Business and Economics of Health, The University of Bologna, Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
Tonny Elmose Andersen
Steven McGee
1 School of Physical Therapy, Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
Taylor Sipos
1 School of Physical Therapy, Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
Thomas Allin
1 School of Physical Therapy, Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
Celia Chen
1Insilico Medicine, Shanghai, China
Alexandra Greco
1 School of Physical Therapy, Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
Pavlos Bobos
Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
Joy MacDermid
4 School of Rehabilitation Science, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Anne Söderlund
Michele Curatolo
2 Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
James M Elliott
Discipline of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
David M Walton
3 School of Physical Therapy, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
Helge Kasch
Linda Carroll
School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Hans Westergren
Gwendolen Jull
Genevieve Grant
Joy C MacDermid
School of Rehabilitation Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Mandy Nielsen
Trudy Rebbeck
4 Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia
Annick Maujean
Sarah Robins
RECOVER Injury Research Centre, The University of Queensland, Herston, Queensland, Australia
Kenneth Chen
Julia Treleaven
Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Objectives The purpose of this systematic review is to identify and synthesise studies evaluating performance-based functional outcome measures designed to evaluate the functional abilities of patients with neck pain.Design Systematic review.Data sources A literature search using PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, EMBASE, COCHRANE, Google Scholar and a citation mapping strategy was conducted until July 2019.Eligibility criteria More than half of the study’s patient population had neck pain or a musculoskeletal neck disorder and completed a functional-based test. Clinimetric properties of at least one performance-based functional tests were reported. Both traumatic and non-traumatic origins of neck pain were considered.Data extraction and synthesis Relevant data were then extracted from selected articles using an extraction guide. Selected articles were appraised using the Quality Appraisal for Clinical Measurement Research Reports Evaluation Form (QACMRR).Results The search obtained 12 articles which reported on four outcome measures (functional capacity evaluations (FCE), Baltimore Therapeutic Equipment Work Simulator II (BTEWS II), Functional Impairment Test-Hand and Neck/Shoulder/Arm (FIT-HaNSA)) and a physiotherapy test package, to assess the functional abilities in patients with mechanical neck pain. Of the selected papers: one reports content validity, five construct validity, four reliability, one sensitivity to change and one both reliability and construct validity. QACMRR scores ranged from 68% to 95%.Conclusions This review found very good quality evidence that the FIT-HaNSA has excellent inter and intra-rater reliability and very weak to weak convergent validity. Excellent quality evidence of fair test-retest reliability, weak convergent validity and very weak known groups validity for the BTEWS II test was found. Good to excellent quality evidence exists that an FCE battery has poor to excellent reliability and very weak to strong validity. Good to excellent quality of weak to strong validity and trivial to strong effect sizes were found for a physiotherapy test package.Prospero registration number CRD42018112358
