Abstract
The purpose of this study was to compare chest expansion (CE) measurements in two arm positions of and between healthy subjects and subjects with ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Twenty-two subjects with AS with a mean age of 41.41 years and 25 healthy subjects with a mean age of 41.04 years were tested in two arm positions: hands on head, and arms at the sides. The tape measure was placed at the level of the xiphisternum. Each tester recorded three trials in both arm positions on two separate occasions which were 10 minutes apart. Results showed there was no significant difference in CE measurement between the two arm positions and between healthy subjects and subjects with AS. It was concluded, that CE may not be an appropriate measurement tool of chest wall or thoracic spine involvement in subjects with AS.
