Reliability of sacroiliac joint laxity measurement with Doppler imaging of vibrations

We developed a noninvasive technique, referred to as Doppler imaging of vibrations (DIV), to measure laxity of the sacroiliac joint (SIJ). The purpose of this study was to examine the reliability of SIJ laxity measurements. A total of 10 healthy women (mean 29.6 ± 6 years old) participated in the study. At both sides, SIJ laxity was measured with DIV in threshold units (TU). Reliability and measurement error were assessed from repeated measurements by five testers on two occasions as well as by one experienced tester. Intraclass correlation coefficients ranged from 0.53 to 0.80 for all five testers, and from 0.75 to 0.89 for the one experienced tester. Only changes larger than 1.94 to 3.60 TU (any tester) or 1.45 to 2.38 TU (experienced tester) could be confidently detected. DIV is a reliable technique for SIJ laxity measurements in healthy subjects, when performed by an experienced tester.

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