The reliability in determining the deep fascia displacement of the upper trapezius during cervical movement: A pilot study

Restricted shoulder fascia displacement may be an etiological factor for myofascial pain syndrome. A diagnostic ultrasound video can follow deep fascia displacement during active cervical movements. Trackers can be applied to videos to convert deep fascia displacement into data points. This study reports on assessors' reliability in evaluating direction and quantifying upper trapezius' deep fascia displacement during active cervical movements. PT-Sonographer 1 recorded deep fascia displacement of upper trapezius for three sets using HS1 Konica Minolta diagnostic ultrasound. The recording sequence used was cervical flexion, extension, right lateral flexion, left lateral flexion, right rotation, and left rotation. The three assessors used the tracker to determine direction of deep fascia displacement. PT-Sonographer 1 used the tracker three times in quantifying deep fascia displacement. Intraclass correlation coefficient and Kappa determined the assessors' intra-tester and inter-tester reliability. Ten participants were included in the study with a mean±(SD) age of 37±(6). All the assessors had acceptable intra-tester reliability in determining deep fascia displacement on tracker (ICC≥0.40). All assessors had clinically unacceptable inter-tester reliability in determining deep fascia displacement when tracking right rotation (ICC