Intra- and inter-rater reliability of the Star Excursion Balance Test in primary school boys

Abstract

In this study, the authors aimed to establish the intra- and inter-rater reliability of the Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT) in two different age groups (6-9 years and 10-13 years) of school boys. The participants in this study were 42 primary school boys, aged from 6-13 years (9.71±2.00). For the intra-rater and inter-rater reliability of SEBT, school boys aged 6-9 years showed fair to excellent reliability (ICC = 0.58-0.90; SEM = 11.14-27.36; SDD = 4.02-9.87 ) in all directional reaches except posterolateral direction (ICC = 0.20) while school boys aged 10-13 years showed good reliability (ICC = 0.72-0.87; SEM = 2.97-7.63; SDD = 8.22-21.15). In conclusion, SEBT showed good intra-rater and inter-rater reliability in anterior, posteromedial and posterolateral directional reaches in school boys aged 6-13 years old but not in inter-rater reliability in posterolateral directional reach of school boys aged 6-9 years old. The findings suggest that SEBT is a reliable and practical test to assess dynamic balance in school boys aged from 10 to 13 years old in school setting.