| Abstract ID |
| 20260087 |
| Category |
| Sports Medicine: Sports Physiotherapy |
| Preferable Presentation |
| Poster |
| Title |
| THE INTER-RATER RELIABILITY OF ULTRASOUND FOR MEASURING THE THICKNESS OF THORACOLUMBAR FASCIA |
| Author |
|
| Presenter |
| Jianhong Gao |
| Abstract |
| Background Thoracolumbar fascia (TLF), a connective tissue, plays an important role in the pathogenesis of chronic low back pain. TLF thickness is commonly measured to quantitatively assess back stiffness or localize pain. Therefore, ultrasound-based evaluation of TLF structure is crucial for clinical assessment in patients with low back pain. Currently, limited evidence exists on the reliability of physiotherapists in measuring TLF thickness compared with radiologists, particularly across different lumbar levels and lateral distances. Therefore, investigating inter-rater reliability across multiple lumbar levels and identifying the most applicable measurement location for novice practitioners is essential to support safe and effective implementation in clinical practice Objectives This study aimed to evaluate the inter-rater reliability between an expert radiologist and a physiotherapist who received structured ultrasound training in measuring TLF thickness across lumbar levels L1–L5 and to identify the most suitable lateral measurement points (2 cm, 2.5 cm, and 3 cm) for novice practitioners. Research design Twenty participants were recruited using convenient sampling and instructed to lie prone on a treatment bed. The physiotherapist marked the lumbar spinous processes (L1–L5) with a permanent pen and delineated four lumbar regions: L1-L2, L2-L3, L3-L4, and L4-L5. An ultrasound probe (B-mode, 10 MHz frequency, 2.5–5 cm depth) was placed lateral to each intervertebral disc space. TLF thickness was measured bilaterally at points 2 cm, 2.5 cm, and 3 cm lateral to the center of each spinous process using digital calipers on ultrasound images. Inter-rater reliability was assessed using the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) with a 95% confidence interval (CI). respectively. Results Inter-rater reliability for TLF thickness measurements at 2 cm, 2.5 cm, and 3 cm lateral to the spinous process ranged from 0.905 to 0.977 (P < 0.001), 0.930 to 0.986 (P < 0.001), and 0.872 to 0.976 (P < 0.001), Conclusions Physiotherapists demonstrated good to strong reliability in measuring TLF thickness across lumbar levels L1-L2, L2-L3, L3-L4, and L4-L5 following three training sessions with an expert radiologist. Among the lateral points, the 2.5 cm distance from the spinous process appears most suitable for beginners, followed by 2 cm and 3 cm. |