Intra-rater Reliability of Posture Analysis Toolkit

Abstract

Background:  Health care professionals mainly assess posture through qualitative observation of the relationship between a plumb line and specified anatomical landmarks.  However, quantitative assessments of spinal alignment are mostly done by biophotogrammetry and are limited to laboratory environments.  The Posture Analysis Toolkit (PAT), a photogrammetric measurement instrument was developed in 2009 to assess standing posture.  Aim:  The aim of this study was to test the intra-rater reliability of the Posture Analysis Toolkit.  Methodology: A prospective, cross-sectional study design was conducted. Fourteen participants were required to do three measurements of the posture of a single subject using the PAT.  Photographs of the anterior and left lateral upright standing posture were taken once, and imported three times for computerised analysis. Reliability was determined using descriptive statistics per session, confidence interval for the median difference between sessions, 95% limits of agreement and Spearman correlations.  Results:  In this study the intra-rater reliability of PAT between sessions was good.  Conclusion: The Posture Analysis Toolkit was tested and proved to be reliable for use as an instrument for the assessment of standing postural alignment. Recommendations are suggested for the development of the PAT.

Keywords:  posture assessment, biophotogrammetry, reliability, postural assessment toolkit