Abstract

Introduction: Nowadays we have Smartphones, applications that can carry out the functions of other measuring instruments. The purpose of this study was to analyze the intra-rater reliability as well as the criterion validity of the Compass app in measuring cervical flexion-rotation test in cervical spine in asymptomatic subjects. Material and method: The sample was 42 asymptomatic subjects. One examiner measured the range of motion in the cervical flexion-rotation test of each patient twice using Compass app and afterwards twice using the Cervical Range of Motion device. In order to calculate the intra-rater reliability and the criterion validity we used the intraclass correlation coefficient. Results: Excellent intra-rater reliability was observed for the cervical flexion-rotation test using Compass app and the value of intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.94. For the criterion validity of Compass app, the value of the intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.87 and the value of the kappa index was 0.533. Discussion: Apart from the shown reliability and validity, Compass is an economical and available tool to measure the range of movement of the flexion rotation test. However, for using Compass as a measurement instrument in the clinic, we should carry out the study in patients who have cervical dysfunctions. Conclusions: We found excellent intra-rater reliability for Compass to measure the flexion rotation test in healthy patients. When we compared Compass to Cervical Range of Motion, this app showed good validity