Accuracy of patient-reported range of elbow motion

BACKGROUND: Patient-reported outcome meaures (PROMs) not only provide valuable insights into subjective indices of joint health, but also may provide limited objective information about range of motion (ROM). We sought to evaluate the accuracy of patient-reported range of elbow motion compared to measured ROM. METHODS: Sixty clinic patients were recruited, of whom 26 had elbow pathologies and 34 had pathologies other than at the elbow joint. Each patient independently estimated ROM for extension, flexion, pronation and supination before this was measured by a clinician using a universal goniometer, with the mean being the gold standard. RESULTS: We found that patients' ROM estimates were significantly different from measured ROM (p < 0.00001 at 95% confidence interval). There was no statistically significant difference between elbow pathology and non-elbow pathology patients' estimated ROM. CONCLUSIONS: There was great disparity between patient-estimated and measured ROM, although estimates of patients with known elbow pathology did not demonstrate any significant difference from their healthy counterparts. These differences may be too great for patient-estimated range of motion to be used as a reliable tool for assessing outcomes.