The Reliability of a New Instrumented Device for Measuring Ankle Laxity and Strength
Presenter Type
UNO Graduate Student (Doctoral)
Advisor Information
Adam Rosen
Location
CEC RM #201/205/209
Presentation Type
Poster
Start Date
22-3-2024 2:30 PM
End Date
22-3-2024 3:45 PM
Abstract
INTRODUCTION
One of the most common musculoskeletal injuries is a lateral ankle sprain. Up to 40% of individuals who have previously injured their ankle report symptoms consistent with chronic ankle instability (CAI), a common consequence of an initial ankle sprain. CAI is characterized by a sensation of the ankle “giving way” and recurrent ankle sprains. Clinical characteristics of ankle sprains and CAI include increased laxity and reduced strength in the ankle. However, reliable and accurate point-of-care devices to assess laxity and strength are often unavailable due to high cost, accessibility, and convenience. It will be allowed to enhance rehabilitation paradigms, long-term results, and prevention of repetitive injury in individuals with ankle injuries by providing a portable, simple, and reliable device. To address these issues, we have developed a lower-cost, portable, multi-component diagnostic device to assess ankle strength and laxity known as the Ankle-Portable Laxity and Strength Tester (Ankle-PLAST). The purpose of the present study was to examine the reliability of the Ankle-PLAST for measuring ankle laxity and strength.
METHODS
Forty physically active, healthy participants participated in this study. For the strength measurements, participants placed their ankles in the heel cup. They were instructed to press against the load cells as hard as possible in the dorsiflexion, inversion, or eversion directions for five seconds each. Participants had their inversion laxity assessed utilizing the rotary encoder of the device. With the ankle in the heel cup, a 150N force was placed on the ankle while rotating the ankle into inversion. Participants were asked to return one week later to perform laxity and strength measurements again on the Ankle-PLAST to assess test-retest reliability. Test-retest reliability was assessed via Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC2,1) using a two-way mixed effects analysis of variance (ANOVA) model. Statistical significance was set at p≤.05 for all statistical analyses, and the ICCs were interpreted as considered poor if they were0.90.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The test-retest reliability between testing sessions was considered good in both strength (ICC = .838 - .862) and laxity (ICC = .791 - .794). The results of the present study provide evidence to support the use of Ankle-PLAST as a reliable, affordable, and portable tool for measuring ankle laxity and strength to improve patient outcomes with ankle injuries.
The Reliability of a New Instrumented Device for Measuring Ankle Laxity and Strength
CEC RM #201/205/209
INTRODUCTION
One of the most common musculoskeletal injuries is a lateral ankle sprain. Up to 40% of individuals who have previously injured their ankle report symptoms consistent with chronic ankle instability (CAI), a common consequence of an initial ankle sprain. CAI is characterized by a sensation of the ankle “giving way” and recurrent ankle sprains. Clinical characteristics of ankle sprains and CAI include increased laxity and reduced strength in the ankle. However, reliable and accurate point-of-care devices to assess laxity and strength are often unavailable due to high cost, accessibility, and convenience. It will be allowed to enhance rehabilitation paradigms, long-term results, and prevention of repetitive injury in individuals with ankle injuries by providing a portable, simple, and reliable device. To address these issues, we have developed a lower-cost, portable, multi-component diagnostic device to assess ankle strength and laxity known as the Ankle-Portable Laxity and Strength Tester (Ankle-PLAST). The purpose of the present study was to examine the reliability of the Ankle-PLAST for measuring ankle laxity and strength.
METHODS
Forty physically active, healthy participants participated in this study. For the strength measurements, participants placed their ankles in the heel cup. They were instructed to press against the load cells as hard as possible in the dorsiflexion, inversion, or eversion directions for five seconds each. Participants had their inversion laxity assessed utilizing the rotary encoder of the device. With the ankle in the heel cup, a 150N force was placed on the ankle while rotating the ankle into inversion. Participants were asked to return one week later to perform laxity and strength measurements again on the Ankle-PLAST to assess test-retest reliability. Test-retest reliability was assessed via Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC2,1) using a two-way mixed effects analysis of variance (ANOVA) model. Statistical significance was set at p≤.05 for all statistical analyses, and the ICCs were interpreted as considered poor if they were0.90.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The test-retest reliability between testing sessions was considered good in both strength (ICC = .838 - .862) and laxity (ICC = .791 - .794). The results of the present study provide evidence to support the use of Ankle-PLAST as a reliable, affordable, and portable tool for measuring ankle laxity and strength to improve patient outcomes with ankle injuries.