A comparison between the shoulder shifting test and seated reaching test by bland–altman plot: A pilot study

Abstract

Background

The Seated Reach Test (SRT) is an assessment tool for evaluating the sitting balance of individuals with a spinal cord injury (SCI). We developed the Shoulder Shifting Test (SST), which is a tool for measuring the reaching distance of individuals with difficulty in raising their arms, such as individuals with tetraplegia.

Objective

To investigate the agreement between the SST and the SRT and the usefulness of the SST.

Subjects and Methods

Sixteen subjects with SCI (age 52.9 ± 13.0 yrs; four with tetraplegia) performed the SST and the SRT. We determined the correlation coefficient to determine the relationship between the two tests. A Bland–Altman analysis was performed to confirm the systematic error, and the relative error (RE) was used to determine the compatibility of the two tests in three directions (front, right, left). We assessed the SST's usefulness by determining how many of 47 subjects (age 59.6 ± 13.6 yrs; 23 with tetraplegia) could not perform the SRT and how many could perform the SST.

Results

The tests were strongly correlated. No systematic errors between the tests were observed. In all three directions, >75% of the subjects had an RE <20%. Eleven of the 47 subjects with SCI were unable to perform either test. Four to ten of the 36 subjects performed the SST due to the difficulty in raising their arms.

Conclusion

The SST was compatible with the SRT, and the sitting balance of more individuals with SCI could be assessed by the combination of these tests.

Keywords:

• Seated Reach Test
• Spinal cord injury
• Postural control
• Sitting balance