Tests of functional limitations in fibromyalgia syndrome: a reliability study

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the reliability and discriminative ability of a test battery consisting of 7 tests designed for the assessment of functional limitations in patients with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS).

Methods: The intrarater reliability of the test battery was evaluated for 15 women with FMS. Interrater reliability was calculated on 4 tests separately. Fifteen healthy women constituted a reference group.

Results: The intrarater coefficient of variation was < 8% for the shoulder range of motion tests, chair test, and 6-minute walk test, and < 21% for the shoulder endurance test, with correlation coefficients above 0.80 for all tests. Kappa was 0.70-0.80 for the hand-to-scapula tests. The interrater coefficient of variation was < 5% for shoulder range of motion. The performances of the FMS patients were significantly decreased in comparison with healthy subjects in all the tests except for the hand-to-scapula movement.

Conclusions: All but 1 of the selected 7 tests were considered to possess acceptable intrarater reliability for use in FMS in clinical physical therapy practice.