title: The reliability of three techniques for measuring foot position.
abstract: The reliability of three commonly used techniques for measuring foot position--valgus index, navicular height, and arch height--was evaluated in a study involving 20 healthy subjects. The results demonstrated significant differences (P < .05) between two observers for all three techniques, although there were no significant differences between two visits for the same observer (P < .05). Secondary analysis demonstrated that navicular height yielded the highest degree of intraobserver and interobserver agreement. The results suggest that there is a wide variation in foot position in the general population, and that measurement error may result from difficulties in defining foot position, techniques used, and instrumentation.
authors.affiliation: Physiotherapy Department, School of Health, University of Teesside, England, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Weiner-Ogilvie
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rome
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003878:Dermatoglyphics; D005260:Female; D005528:Foot / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008722:Methods; D015588:Observer Variation; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012107:Research Design / Q000592:standards*; D013639:Tarsal Bones / Q000033:anatomy & histology