Errors in statistics could lead to misinterpretation.

In reviewing "The Use of Low-Load Prolonged Stretch Devices in Rehabilitation Programs in the Pacific Northwest" by Nuismer, Ekes, and Holm (AjOT, July/August 1997, pp. 538-543), I found several notable errors in the results. For example, when computing statistics for change in range of motion (ROM), a zero was mistakenly used instead of the reported -10 (Table 1, p. 541) for Subject 7. Table 1 in this letter shows the corrected statistics along with the previously published statistics. Also note that the standard deviation of age for all subjects should be 22.5 years and not 24.5 years (Table 2, p. 541). Although these mistakes only have a minimal effect on the change in the statistics, the potential for misinterpretation is present. For example, for the neurological group, the 95% confidence interval for the change in ROM is correedy (9.5, 45). The interval width is considerable, and one could not even say that the change is significandy more than 10°. However, by using the reported incorrect standard deviation, the 95% confidence interval would be calculated as (12,45), indicating that a change in ROM is significandy more than 100. Roseann Hamby Jackson, Mississippi