Kristina Loumlwing and Eva Brogren Carlberg
The aim of this study was to determine inter-rater and test-retest reliability of a scale for assessing selective motor control (SMC) in the dorsiflexors of the ankle. A consecutive sample of 40 children with cerebral palsy (CP), aged 3-16 years (median age 7 years) participated in the study. Thirty children had a bilateral form of CP and 10 a unilateral form, and they were classified into Gross Motor Function Classification System levels I-V. The SMC scale ranges from 0 (indicating no ankle movement) to 4 (indicating isolated SMC through available range of motion with balanced activity in m. tibialis anterior). The inter-rater reliability showed fair/good to strong agreement between pairs of raters and the test-retest reliability was strong .
Since the inter-rater reliability varied between fair/good to strong and the test-retest reliability was strong, it is concluded that repeated evaluations should preferably be performed by the same rater.
Advances in Physiotherapy, 11(2), 58 – 63