Review of the psychometric properties of lower limb motor coordination tests

Introduction Adequate motor coordination (MC) of the lower limbs is essential for most of the motor tasks. Therefore, it is important to know the psychometric properties of the tests employed to assess lower limb MC, so that professionals could have a better basis to choose the most adequate assessment tools. Objectives To investigate the psychometric properties and clinical utility of instruments used to assess lower limb MC, by means of a critical review of the literature. Materials and methods A search was conducted in six databases looking for studies which evaluated reliability, validity, sensitivity to changes, or clinical utility of the tests employed to assess lower limb MC. The articles were assessed and the data of their psychometric properties were extracted by two researchers, independently. Results The search returned 1361 studies, 1,325 were excluded after analyses. The hand search yielded four eligible articles, totaling nine included articles. The included studies evaluated the psychometric properties of eight tests, but only three were specific to assess lower limb MC and the others were sub-items of other scales, which assess other domains. None of the tests provided data for all of the basic psychometric properties. Final remarks According to the results of this review, none of the tests had their basic psychometric properties reported, which is necessary to be investigated in future studies. This review may facilitate the search and selection of lower limb MC tests by researchers and clinicians.引言 下肢充足的运动协调能力（motor coordination, MC）是多数运动任务得以完成的必要前提。因此，明晰用于评估下肢运动协调能力的测试工具的心理测量学特性，能够为专业人员选择最合适的评估手段提供更可靠的依据。 研究目的 本研究旨在通过对现有文献进行批判性综述，探究用于评估下肢运动协调能力的各类工具的心理测量学特性与临床应用价值。 研究资料与方法 本研究在6个数据库中开展文献检索，筛选所有评估下肢运动协调能力测试工具的信度、效度、反应敏感性或临床应用价值的相关研究。由两名研究人员独立完成文献筛选与心理测量学相关数据的提取工作。 研究结果 本次检索共获取1361篇相关文献，经初步分析后排除1325篇；通过手工检索补充获得4篇符合纳入标准的文献，最终共纳入9篇文献。纳入研究共评估了8种测试工具的心理测量学特性，其中仅3种为专门针对下肢运动协调能力的特异性测试，其余均为其他量表的子条目，用于评估其他运动领域。所有纳入测试均未覆盖全部基础心理测量学指标。 研究结论 基于本次综述结果，目前尚无任何一款测试工具完整报告了其基础心理测量学特性，这一领域仍有待未来研究进一步探索。本综述可为研究人员与临床医师筛选、选用下肢运动协调能力评估工具提供便利。