Resistance to passive shoulder external rotation in persons with hemiplegia: Evaluation of an assessment system

Objectives: To determine the LIDO Active System's reliability and validity in measuring resistance to passive external rotation (RPER) of the shoulder in subjects who have sustained a cerebrovascular accident (CVA). Study Design: Twenty hemiplegic subjects, between the ages of 38 and 78yrs, participated in the study; 14 agreed to be tested on two occasions, for the reliability phase of the study. Outcome Measures: RPER, measured by the LIDO Active system; tone in the internal rotator musculature, measured by the Ashworth Scale; and shoulder external rotation range of motion, measured by a standard goniometer. Results: Test-retest reliability of RPER measured on the LIDO system was demonstrated with intraclass correlation coefficients of .95 and .67 on the affected and nonaffected limb, respectively. Differences in RPER between the affected and nonaffected limb were significant (p <.01) and RPER on the affected limb correlated significantly with Ashworth measures of muscle tone (Spearman's rho =.62). Conclusion: The LIDO Active System provided reliable and valid measures of RPER of the shoulder in hemiplegic subjects. The LIDO system may be a useful device for objective measurement of the effectiveness of medical and rehabilitation interventions designed to bring muscle tone into the normal range and decrease contracture in the shoulder musculature. (C) 1999 by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.