title: Hallucal rotation: a method of measurement and relationship to bunion deformity.
abstract: A method for measuring hallucal rotation or weightbearing tangential radiographs is described. Under controlled conditions using cadaver specimens, 10 degree changes in hallucal rotation were associated with a mean change in radiographically measured rotation of 10.6 degrees (S.D. = 2.3 degrees). A clinical study of 30 control patients and 39 patients presenting with a chief complaint of a bunion deformity was undertaken to assess the reliability of the measurement method. The overall reliability was high for both groups (r = 0.98). A significant difference was found between mean values for hallucal rotation in the two groups (P < 0.005). There is a modest association between increasing valgus deviation and increasing rotation of the hallux (r = 0.43, P < 0.01). This study suggests that bunion deformities involve variable degrees of axial and coronal plane rotations of the first metatarsophalangeal joint and that the concept of a planar "hallux valgus" deformity may insufficiently describe this three-dimensional clinical condition.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Iowa, Iowa City 52242, USA.
authors.forename: K D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Talbot
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Saltzman
mesh_terms: D002102:Cadaver; D006214:Hallux / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000502:physiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006215:Hallux Valgus / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D011859:Radiography / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012399:Rotation; D016474:Weight-Bearing