Study of reproducibility of Spinal Alignment and Range of Motion Measure in children with cerebral palsy

Cerebral palsy is a non-progressive disorder, but status of these children could be worse due to progressive abnormalities especially in the musculoskeletal system. Among these abnormalities are contractures and spinal abnormalities which have negative effects on their motor skills, self-care, and activity of daily living; these are related to respiratory disorders, digestive and skin problems and sleep disorders.So, part of a treatment plan for patients with cerebral palsy is to prevent contractures and spinal distortions and their secondary effects as well as to correct distortions. SAROMM is a tool for estimation of flexibility and posture in patients with cerebral palsy to determine the appropriate treatment and prevent secondary disorders such as contractures. It is developed by Bartlett, et al (2005). Purpose of this study was assessing the reliability of SAROMM in this population. In this descriptive, cross-sectional study, 27 cerebral palsy adolescent and children 5 to 15 years (9 girls and 18 boys) with a mean age of 4/9, SD 6/2, selected non-randomly (convenience) from rehabilitation centers and schools. Informed consent was obtained from parents and participants introduced to the evaluation. The examiners1&2 (interrater) reliability done in a one-day and the same session.The order of assessment by the raters were randomized. To evaluate intrarater reliability, subjects were evaluated by the examiner 1 a week later. The correlation coefficient test was used to evaluate the correlation between the scores given by the two raters. Intera rater agreement (000/0 = P, 99/0 = ICC), and also between examiner agreement (P= 000/0, ICC=0/98) were excellent. There is the high reproducibility SAROMM scale for measuring spinal flexibility and range of motion in children and adolescent with cerebral palsy 5 to 15 years.