| Sumario: | There are many indications of defects in motor control being part of the aetiopathogenesis of degenerative joint diseases. Measurement of proprioceptive functions may increase our understanding of these diseases. Furthermore, reproducible tests will enable researchers to demonstrate the results of targeted physiotherapy. The purpose of this study was to determine the test-retest reliability of a method to measure knee joint position sense (JPS). Thirty-nine healthy volunteers (17 women, 18-50 years old) participated. The JPS was measured as the participant's ability to reproduce the same position in the right knee (target vs. estimated angle). The result was expressed as the difference between target and estimated angle. Measurements were repeated three times with three different target angles (prone position: 40 degrees, 70 degrees, 100 degrees flexion; sitting position: 30 degrees, 50 degrees, 70 degrees flexion), and for single leg and both legs. Three test sessions were performed with 1-h and 1-week interval. The outcome measure was the difference between the target and the estimated position (absolute error, AE). The degree of reliability was evaluated by using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). The mean AE summarized for all measurements was 4.16 degrees in sitting position and 5.06 degrees in prone position. The ICCs ranged from 0.31 to 0.82 in sitting position and from 0.17 to 0.75 in prone position. Based upon the fair to good reliability of the applied method for measuring JPS over the knee, we suggest the following procedures for determination of JPS over the knee: (i) the JPS should be calculated as the AE between target and estimate position; (ii) sitting should be preferred to prone; (iii) ipsilateral should be preferred to counter-lateral; (iv) test angle should be in the middle (suggested from 40 degrees to 80 degrees flexion) of the knee joint's range of motion. With these precautions, the test seems to be a reliable measure of JPS in healthy controls.
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