Validation of the Muscle Tightness Measurement Tool

Background and Purpose: For nurses, muscle tightness is an important aspect of patient care, but no bedside tool is available that allows them to measure it. Therefore, a standardized tool that measures muscle tightness is needed. The purpose of this study was to validate a tool to measure muscle tightness. Methods: Using Delphi technique and quantitative design, the tool was validated in two phases. The phase 1 included 20 expert clinicians who established content validity with Lawshe's rating. In phase 2, divergent validity was established by administering the tool to one group that had muscle tightness (n = 26) and one group that did not (n = 20). Results: Findings indicate that the muscle tightness measurement tool has content and divergent validity. Conclusions: Further tool refinement with validity and reliability studies are recommended for clinical practice.