Dissertation submitted in partial compliance with the requirements for the Masters Degree in Technology: Chiropractic, Durban University of Technology, 2010. / The aim of this study was to determine the inter-examiner reliability of motion palpation to detect joint dysfunction in hindfoot and midfoot joints of asymptomatic feet and feet with chronic ankle instability syndrome. The rationale for this study was that motion palpation is a commonly used assessment tool that is used by the chiropractic profession to detect the need for manipulation of the spine and extremities. Also until the reliability of motion palpation is known, other studies using motion palpation as an assessment tool to detect the need for manipulation in the hindfoot and midfoot are questionable. The study was conducted at Durban University of Technology (DUT). Patients that responded to the adverts were then screened via telephonic interview. The researcher performed a case history, physical examination and a foot and ankle regional examination on each patient. Three masters chiropractic students then independently assessed both the symptomatic and asymptomatic feet of each patient and recorded their results. The data was then statistically analysed using SPSS version 15. It was found that the inter-examiner reliability of motion palpation for detecting restrictions in feet with chronic ankle instability syndrome was fair and for detecting instability, there was moderate reliability. In the asymptomatic group the examiners showed to have poor reliability in detecting restrictions and moderate reliability in detecting instability. Inter-examiner reliability was better in the symptomatic group and in this group examiners had more agreement on detecting instability as opposed to restrictions. This study has showed that inter-examiner reliability ranged from poor to moderate in the symptomatic and asymptomatic group with the reliability ranging from poor to moderate. Therefore, one can conclude that motion palpation can be used as an assessment tool to detect joint dysfunction in hindfoot and midfoot joints. However, further studies are warranted to address other subjective and objective measurements such as tenderness and range of motion together with motion palpation.

Dissertation submitted in partial compliance with the requirements for the Masters Degree in Technology: Chiropractic, Durban University of Technology, 2010. / The aim of this study was to determine the inter-examiner reliability of motion palpation to detect joint dysfunction in hindfoot and midfoot joints of asymptomatic feet and feet with chronic ankle instability syndrome. The rationale for this study was that motion palpation is a commonly used assessment tool that is used by the chiropractic profession to detect the need for manipulation of the spine and extremities. Also until the reliability of motion palpation is known, other studies using motion palpation as an assessment tool to detect the need for manipulation in the hindfoot and midfoot are questionable. The study was conducted at Durban University of Technology (DUT). Patients that responded to the adverts were then screened via telephonic interview. The researcher performed a case history, physical examination and a foot and ankle regional examination on each patient. Three masters chiropractic students then independently assessed both the symptomatic and asymptomatic feet of each patient and recorded their results. The data was then statistically analysed using SPSS version 15. It was found that the inter-examiner reliability of motion palpation for detecting restrictions in feet with chronic ankle instability syndrome was fair and for detecting instability, there was moderate reliability. In the asymptomatic group the examiners showed to have poor reliability in detecting restrictions and moderate reliability in detecting instability. Inter-examiner reliability was better in the symptomatic group and in this group examiners had more agreement on detecting instability as opposed to restrictions. This study has showed that inter-examiner reliability ranged from poor to moderate in the symptomatic and asymptomatic group with the reliability ranging from poor to moderate. Therefore, one can conclude that motion palpation can be used as an assessment tool to detect joint dysfunction in hindfoot and midfoot joints. However, further studies are warranted to address other subjective and objective measurements such as tenderness and range of motion together with motion palpation.

Submitted as the dissertation component in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of a Masters in Technology in Chiropractic in the department of Chiropractic and Somatology, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2017. / Background: Hip pain is a common problem. Motion palpation is a manual technique applied by the hands in various degrees of joint motion that specifically evaluates range of motion in relation to specific anatomical landmarks, joint play and end feel. Motion palpation remains one of the most used diagnostic techniques and yet it remains unclear whether or not it is a reliable, sensitive and specific tool; especially in the hip joint. Objectives: This study assessed intra- and inter-examiner reliability and clinical responsiveness of motion palpation when it is used as a diagnostic tool in patients with non-specific unilateral anterior hip pain and unilateral asymptomatic hip joints. Methods: Ten participants, between the ages of 18 and 60, were included in this study (three ballet dancers, three golfers and four participants from the general population). The participants were assessed randomly by three blinded examiners. All of the participants then received one adjustment delivered by the researcher (half on the symptomatic side and half on the asymptomatic). The participants were then re-assessed. Data was recorded on a data collection sheet and analysed using SPSS version 23. Intra-examiner reliability and clinical responsiveness were analysed using McNemar’s test and the Chi-Square Test of Independence. Inter-examiner reliability was analysed using Fleiss’ Kappa. Results: Intra-examiner reliability showed to be markedly better on the left-hand side for all three examiners. Kappa scores for inter-examiner reliability varied from none to perfect. The average pairwise agreement scores ranged from 33.3% to 100% at the first assessment, and from 46.6% to 100% in the second assessment. A mean and standard deviation were calculated for the pairwise agreements which represented the sensitivity and specificity respectively. Both showed improvement between the first and second assessments which is positive for inter-examiner reliability. Clinical responsiveness was shown to be absent for examiners A and B but was present for examiner C on the left. Conclusion: This study found that, contrary to the expectations of many clinicians, motion palpation has limited to poor levels of intra-examiner reliability, inter-examiner reliability and clinical responsiveness. This is however limited by the small sample size and methodological limitations in this study. Therefore, the role of palpation as a diagnostic tool used in the diagnosis hip dysfunction may be limited. / M