Hindawi Publishing Corporation Rehabilitation Research and Practice Volume 2012, Article ID 803637, 7 pages doi:10.1155/2012/803637 Research Article Development of Clinical Rating Criteria for Tests of Lumbopelvic Stability Margaret A. Perrott,1 Tania Pizzari,2 Mark Opar,3 and Jill Cook4 1 Musculoskeletal Research Centre, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC 3086, Australia 2 School of Physiotherapy, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC 3086, Australia 3 School of Phsyiotherapy, La Trobe University Melbourne, VIC 3086, Australia 4 Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3199, Australia Correspondence should be addressed to Margaret A. Perrott, m.perrott@latrobe.edu.au Received 4 October 2011; Accepted 25 November 2011 Academic Editor: G u¨l Baltaci Copyright © 2012 Margaret A. Perrott et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Background. Lumbopelvic stability (LPS) is regarded as important for injury prevention, yet there are few reliable or valid tests that can be used in the clinical assessment of LPS. Three dynamic functional tests were identiﬁed that assess LPS in multiple planes of motion: dip test (DT), single leg squat (SLS), and runner pose test (RPT). Existing rating criteria for SLS have limited reliability and rating criteria for DT and RPT have not been established. Objective. To develop rating criteria for three clinical tests of LPS. Design. Qualitative research: focus group. Method. A focus group of ﬁve expert physiotherapists used qualitative methods to develop rating criteria for the three clinical tests. Results. Detailed rating criteria were established for the three tests. Each key factor considered important for LPS had characteristics described that represented both good and poor LPS. Conclusion. This study established rating criteria that may be used to clinically assess LPS. 1. Introduction Lumbopelvic stability (LPS) is a highly complex integrated function involving control of many segments of the body [1]. Clinically, there is a perception that LPS is an essential component of injury prevention and training of such stability is thought to aid recovery from injury and improve performance [2]. Despite this, few reliable or valid clinical tests of LPS have been identiﬁed, and attempts to establish their reliability may have been hampered by a lack of suitable rating criteria [3]. It is important to establish reliable and valid clinical tests as deﬁcits in factors that contribute to a stable lumbopelvic region have consequences for individuals. Deﬁcits in muscle endurance [4, 5], motor control [6–11], muscle size [12, 13], and strength [6, 14–17] have all been associated with pain or injury. The ability to properly assess the stability of an individual depends on the formulation of an adequate deﬁnition of LPS. Stability of the lumbopelvic region has been described by a number of authors. Bergmark proposed a mechanical engineering description of stability [18]. This stated that stability exists when the forces and the resulting moment acting on a structure maintain the structure in a state of equilibrium. This description sets the foundation of stability but has some limitations for clinical application. Stability of the lumbopelvic region has been described by other authors in broad terms [1, 19]. These descriptions involve control of position and motion of the trunk, pelvis, and thigh requiring that the region be in correct alignment but allowing for that fact that movement does occur. These descriptions of stability of the region appear to be clinically useful. The purpose of this study was to examine stability of the lumbopelvic region rather than stability of individual segments or within individual segments. However, models of intervertebral stability and intrapelvic stability add to our understanding of regional stability. Panjabi [20, 21] made an important contribution by describing a neutral zone with minimal muscle activity around a neutral posture. Stability