Inter-rater and intra-rater reliability of manual assessment of respiratory motion in patients with unilateral cervical radiculopathy: A cross-sectional study

Background

Altered breathing pattern is a consequence of dysfunctional breathing. The respiratory pattern might be impaired in patients with cervical radiculopathy due to the involvement of common nerve roots with the phrenic nerve (C3– C5).

Objective

The aim of this study was to investigate the inter-rater and intra-rater reliability of a technique for evaluating the breathing pattern known as manual assessment of respiratory motion (MARM) in patients with unilateral cervical radiculopathy.

Design

Cross-sectional study.

Setting

Rehabilitation Sciences Research Center

Participants

Twenty-five patients with unilateral cervical radiculopathy aged 30–55 years participated in this study.

Methods

Two experienced physical therapists investigated the respiratory pattern of the patients during normal and deep breathing using MARM, separately. Assessments were repeated again a week apart by each examiner. The inter- and intra-rater reliability of the MARM were calculated.

Results

“Very good” inter-rater and intra-rater reliability were found with the MARM values during both normal and deep breathing patterns. (Inter-rater: ICC range = 0.71 to 0.82; intra-rater: ICC range = 0.72 to 0.80).

Conclusions

MARM is a reliable clinical and research tool for assessing breathing patterns with very good inter- and intra-rater reliability in patients with unilateral cervical radiculopathy.