Thanks Murray for your advice.
Femorotibial angle (FTA) measurement
can objectively be measured, and so,
validation process for goniometric FTA
may be different from subjective
tests such as end-feel tests.
While end-feel tests reflect many
aspects of conditions, FTA only reflects the
angular relationship between the
femur and tibia in the coronal plane.
Therefore, FTA is most often assessed radiographically,
and the
radiographic FTA is clinically meaningful since it is associated
with several
musculoskeletal conditions.
Goniometric FTA may already have face
validity, but the face validity is scientifically
weak. Further,
associations between goniometric FTA and pathological
conditions are not fully understood. In this sense, goniometric FTA
measurement should be best validated against the radiographic
technique
to have concurrent validity.
I agree with you that validity of a clinical
measure certainly depends on
the context and circumstances.
Taro
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Kotaro
Tamari,
PhD student
School of Physiotherapy
Curtin University of
Technology, Perth,
Australia
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