A novel tool for measuring ankle dorsiflexion: A study of its reliability in patients following ankle fractures.
BACKGROUND
Assessment of ankle joint movement in a weight bearing position has important clinical implications. The lunge ankle dorsiflexion measurement device (LAD) has been developed with the aim of facilitating ease of and standardisation of the measurement of ankle joint movement. The literature lacks studies evaluating the reliability of weight bearing measurements of the ankle joint in study groups with ankle disabilities. The objective of this study was to examine the intra- and inter-tester reliability of ankle dorsiflexion measured with the novel LAD in patients following a fracture of the ankle.


METHODS
This study was a randomized intra- and inter-tester reliability study with blinding of testers and participants. All participants were tested twice by each tester, with the order of testers randomized. The intra- and inter-tester reliability was assessed by the calculation of interclass correlation coefficients (ICC).


RESULTS
The study sample consisted of 24 patients: 15 females and nine males post-immobilisation following surgery for ankle fractures. The mean age was 51.0 years, ranging from 22 to 92 years. All patients had sustained an AO classification 44- fracture of the ankle. The mean follow-up time was 9.3 months (16.2 SD) after the time of fracture. The inter-tester reliability was high, with an ICC of 0.984 (95%CI: 0.963-0.993) and SEmeasof 0.14cm. The ICC for Tester A was 0.989 (95%CI: 0.974-0.995) and SEmeas0.10cm. The ICC for Tester B was 0.990 (95%CI: 0.977-0.996) and SEmeas0.09cm.


CONCLUSIONS
This study shows a high inter- and intra-tester reliability for measuring ankle dorsiflexion with the LAD following a fracture of the ankle.
Department of Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy, Aalborg University Hospital, Denmark. Electronic address: peter.larsen@rn.dk.
Peter
P
Larsen
Physiotherapy Department, University College Nodjylland, Denmark.
Henrik B
HB
Nielsen
Physiotherapy Department, University College Nodjylland, Denmark.
Christoffer
C
Lund
Physiotherapy Department, University College Nodjylland, Denmark.
Daniel S
DS
Sørensen
Physiotherapy Department, University College Nodjylland, Denmark.
Birgit T
BT
Larsen
The University of Queensland, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Sports Injuries Rehabilitation and Prevention for Health Research Unit, CCRE Spine, Brisbane, Australia.
Mark
M
Matthews
The University of Queensland, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Sports Injuries Rehabilitation and Prevention for Health Research Unit, CCRE Spine, Brisbane, Australia.
Bill
B
Vicenzino
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Aalborg University Hospital, Denmark.
Rasmus
R
Elsoe
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D064386:Ankle Fractures / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000534:rehabilitation / Q000601:surgery*; D053587:Arthrometry, Articular / Q000295:instrumentation*; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D004867:Equipment Design; D005081:Exercise Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005593:Fracture Fixation, Internal / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015588:Observer Variation; D011182:Postoperative Care / Q000379:methods; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular / Q000502:physiology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D016474:Weight-Bearing; D055815:Young Adult
Ankle fracture; Ankle movement; Measuring device; WBLT