Validity of an ankle joint motion and position sense measurement system and its application in healthy subjects and patients with ankle sprain.
OBJECTIVE
Ankle motion and proprioception in multiple axis movements are crucial for daily activities. However, few studies have developed and used a multiple axis system for measuring ankle motion and proprioception. This study was designed to validate a novel ankle haptic interface system that measures the ankle range of motion (ROM) and joint position sense in multiple plane movements, investigating the proprioception deficits during joint position sense tasks for patients with ankle instability.


METHODS
Eleven healthy adults (mean ± standard deviation; age, 24.7 ± 1.9 years) and thirteen patients with ankle instability were recruited in this study. All subjects were asked to perform tests to evaluate the validity of the ankle ROM measurements and underwent tests for validating the joint position sense measurements conducted during multiple axis movements of the ankle joint. Pearson correlation was used for validating the angular position measurements obtained using the developed system; the independent t test was used to investigate the differences in joint position sense task performance for people with or without ankle instability.


RESULTS
The ROM measurements of the device were linearly correlated with the criterion standards (r = 0.99). The ankle instability and healthy groups were significantly different in direction, absolute, and variable errors of plantar flexion, dorsiflexion, inversion, and eversion (p < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
The results demonstrate that the novel ankle joint motion and position sense measurement system is valid and can be used for measuring the ankle ROM and joint position sense in multiple planes and indicate proprioception deficits for people with ankle instability.
School of Gerontology Health Management and Master Program in Long-Term Care, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Chueh-Ho
CH
Lin
Tri-Service General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
Shang-Lin
SL
Chiang
Department of Physical Therapy and Assistive Technology, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Liang-Hsuan
LH
Lu
Department of Physical Therapy and Assistive Technology, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Shun-Hwa
SH
Wei
Department of Physical Therapy and Assistive Technology, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan. Electronic address: whsung@ym.edu.tw.
Wen-Hsu
WH
Sung
D000328:Adult; D016512:Ankle Injuries / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000843:Ankle Joint / Q000502:physiology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular; D013180:Sprains and Strains / Q000503:physiopathology*; D055815:Young Adult
Ankle instability; Ankle sprain; Joint position sense; Proprioception deficits; Range of motion