Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the inter-tester reliability of lumbar lordosis posture using a novel screening device.

Methods: A total of 33 healthy young male participants participated in the study. Two examiners measured the regional upper and lower lumbar lordosis angles of the participants in the standing position using a flexible ruler. The bent flexible ruler maintained a fixed shape and was transferred to a protractor for angle measurement. Two examiners classified each participant into one of 4 lumbar spine categories and measured the upper and lower regional lumbar lordosis angles.

Results: The agreement level between the 2 examiners in assessing healthy participants was 87.9%. The calculated kappa coefficient was 0.79 (95% CI = 0.86-0.97), reflecting a substantial level of agreement.

Conclusion: Our results suggest that our novel screening device for assessing upper and lower lumbar angles showed good inter-tester reliability in posture classification. Our findings may be useful for health care professionals for managing sagittal lumbar posture in asymptomatic younger individuals; however, more testing is still needed.

Article keywords: Classification; Device; Lordosis; Posture; Spine

Article affiliations: Department of Physical Therapy, College of Healthcare Medical Science and Engineering, Inje University, Gimhae-si, Republic of Korea.

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