Article

The assessment of the maximum ankle dorsiflexion angle is an
important clinical examination procedure. Evidence shows that the traditional
goniometer is highly unreliable, and various designs of goniometers to measure
the maximum ankle dorsiflexion angle rely on the application of a known force to
obtain reliable results. Hence, an innovative ankle dorsiflexion measurement
device was designed to make this measurement more reliable by holding the foot in
a selected posture without the application of a known moment. OBJECTIVES: To
report on the comprehensive validity and reliability testing carried out on the
new device. METHODS: Following validity testing, four different trials to test
reliability of the ankle dorsiflexion measurement device were performed. These
trials included inter-rater and intra-rater testings with a controlled moment,
intra-rater reliability testing with knees flexed and extended without a
controlled moment, intra-rater testing with a patient population, and inter-rater
reliability testing between four raters of varying experience without controlling
moment. All raters were blinded. STUDY DESIGN: A series of trials to test
intra-rater and inter-rater reliabilities. Results: Intra-rater reliability
intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.98 and inter-rater reliability
intraclass correlation coefficient (2,1) was 0.953 with a controlled moment. With
uncontrolled moment, very high reliability for intra-tester was also achieved
(intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.94 with knees extended and intraclass
correlation coefficient = 0.95 with knees flexed). For the trial investigating
test-retest reliability with actual patients, intraclass correlation coefficient
of 0.99 was obtained. In the trial investigating four different raters with
uncontrolled moment, intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.91 was achieved.
CONCLUSIONS: The new ankle dorsiflexion measurement device is a valid and
reliable device for measuring ankle dorsiflexion in both healthy subjects and
patients, with both controlled and uncontrolled moments, even by multiple raters
of varying experience when the foot is dorsiflexed to its end of range of motion.
CLINICAL RELEVANCE: An ankle dorsiflexion measuring device has been designed to
increase the reliability of ankle dorsiflexion measurement and replace the
traditional goniometer. While the majority of similar devices rely on application
of a known moment to perform this measurement, it has been shown that this is not
required with the new ankle dorsiflexion measurement device and, rather, foot
posture should be taken into consideration as this affects the maximum ankle
dorsiflexion angle.

Langue : ANGLAIS