Test-Retest Reliability of the Progressive Isoinertial Lifting Evaluation (PILE)

Study design A repeated measures single group design. Objectives To investigate test-retest reliability of Progressive Isoinertial Lifting Evaluation on patients with long lasting musculoskeletal problems related to the lumbar spine. Summary of background data Test-retest reliability has been satisfactory in healthy men. Test-retest reliability for clinical populations has not been reported. Methods A total of 31 patients (17 women and 14 men) with long lasting low back pain participated in the study. The patients were tested twice at an interval of 2 days and at the same time of the day. The heaviest load that the patient could lift 4 times was used as outcome measure. Results The error of measurement indicates that the true result in 95% of cases will be within +/-4.5 kg from the measured value, while the difference between 2 measurements in 95% of cases will be less than 6.4 kg. Intra-class correlation (1,1) was 0.91. Conclusions Relative test-retest reliability was high assessed by intra-class correlation, but absolute measurement variability reported as the smallest detectable difference has relevance for the interpretation of clinical test results and should also be considered.