Reliability and precision of hip proprioception methods in healthy individuals

Objective: The goal of this study was to establish the intrasession and intersession reliability and precision of threshold to detect passive motion (TTDPM), force sense (FS), and active joint position sense (JPS) tests for the hip in healthy individuals. Design: Descriptive laboratory study. Setting: Research laboratory. Participants: Data were collected on 20 subjects between the ages of 18 and 30 years. They were physically active and had no history of major lower extremity injury or surgery or hip injuries. Interventions: Threshold to detect passive motion, FS, and active JPS were measured using a Biodex System 3 and a Vicon Motion Analysis System. Main Outcome Measures: Error scores were calculated as the absolute difference between the reference and reproduction values. Intraclass correlation (ICC) and standard error of measurement (SEM) were used to assess intrasession and intersession reliability and precision. Results: Adduction showed good reliability for JPS, with an intersession ICC (SEM) of 0.753 (0.248 degrees). For TTDPM, abduction showed an intrasession ICC (SEM) of 0.825 (0.256 degrees) and adduction had an intrasession ICC (SEM) of 0.765 (0.266 degrees). The intersession ICCs (SEM) were as follows: flexion 0.810 (0.143 degrees), extension 0.777 (0.195 degrees), abduction 0.906 (0.176 degrees), and adduction 0.893 (0.144 degrees). Flexion showed a good intersession ICC for FS: 0.764 (0.932 Nm). Conclusions: Results indicate that a reliable and precise method of measuring hip TTDPM has been established. Further investigation is necessary to develop reliable and precise measurement methods for FS and active JPS of the hip and to identify if TTDPM is related to hip kinematics, hip kinetics, and muscle activation about the hip during functional tasks.