Design of a manual device to measure ankle joint stiffness and range of motion

Kobayashi, T; Leung, AK; Hutchins, S

Abstract

Background and Aim: Ankle joint stiffness and its range of motion (ROM) are commonly assessed to determine the appropriate mechanical characteristics required in an effective ankle-foot orthosis (AFO) prescription. The aim of this technical note is to present the design of a manual device that enables their convenient measurement in the clinical setting and to demonstrate its reliability.
Technique: The manual device was designed with a torquemeter, a potentiometer, a steering wheel, a rotary plate, and a foot plate. The measurement of resistive torque at 0° (neutral), 5° (dorsiflexion) and 10° (dorsiflexion) ankle angular positions demonstrated the high reliability of the device with Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) (1,k) values over 0.97.
Discussion: Quantitative measurement of ankle joint stiffness and ROM by this manual device would provide objective information that could potentially assist AFO prescriptions. A future study should investigate how to incorporate the measurement obtained from the device into the prescription of an AFO.

Citation

Kobayashi, T., Leung, A., & Hutchins, S. (2011). Design of a manual device to measure ankle joint stiffness and range of motion. Prosthetics and Orthotics International, 35(4), 478-481. https://doi.org/10.1177/0309364611425696

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2011
• Deposit Date: May 16, 2012
• Journal: Prosthetics and Orthotics International
• Print ISSN: 0309-3646
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 35
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 478-481
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0309364611425696
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0309364611425696