Inter- and Intraexaminer Reliability in Identifying and Classifying Myofascial Trigger Points in Shoulder Muscles.

OBJECTIVE

To determine inter- and intraexaminer reliability of examiners without clinical experience in identifying and classifying myofascial trigger points (MTPs) in the shoulder muscles of subjects asymptomatic and symptomatic for unilateral subacromial impact syndrome (SIS).

DESIGN

Within-day inter- and intraexaminer reliability study.

SETTING

Physical therapy department of a university.

PARTICIPANTS

Fifty-two subjects participated in the study, 26 symptomatic and 26 asymptomatic for unilateral SIS.

INTERVENTIONS

Two examiners, without experience for assessing MTPs, independent and blind to the clinical conditions of the subjects, assessed bilaterally the presence of MTPs (present or absent) in 6 shoulder muscles and classified them (latent or active) on the affected side of the symptomatic group. Each examiner performed the same assessment twice in the same day.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Reliability was calculated through percentage agreement, prevalence- and bias-adjusted kappa (PABAK) statistics, and weighted kappa.

RESULTS

Intraexaminer reliability in identifying MTPs for the symptomatic and asymptomatic groups was moderate to perfect (PABAK, .46-1 and .60-1, respectively). Interexaminer reliability was between moderate and almost perfect in the 2 groups (PABAK, .46-.92), except for the muscles of the symptomatic group, which were below these values. With respect to MTP classification, intraexaminer reliability was moderate to high for most muscles, but interexaminer reliability was moderate for only 1 muscle (weighted κ=.45), and between weak and reasonable for the rest (weighted κ=.06-.31).

CONCLUSIONS

Intraexaminer reliability is acceptable in clinical practice to identify and classify MTPs. However, interexaminer reliability proved to be reliable only to identify MTPs, with the symptomatic side exhibiting lower values of reliability.