Evaluation of the Alignment of the Tibial Malleolus and Lateral Malleolus of the Fibula

• Published in: Journal of Physical Therapy Science 2011, Vol.23(6), pp.919-921
• Main Authors: Fukuhara, Takashi, Sakamoto, Masaaki, Nakazawa, Rie, Kawagoe, Makoto, Sakurai, Shin-Ichi, Kato, Kazuo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Device development; Reproducibility; Three-dimensional Coordinates
• ISSN: 0915-5287; 2187-5626
• DOI: 10.1589/jpts.23.919

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to determine the intratester reliability of an instrument developed by us for assessing the alignment of the lateral malleolus of the fibula and medial malleolus of the tibia using digital calipers. [Subjects] Eight healthy men without any leg symptoms (29.9 ± 5.8 years) participated in this study. [Methods] Subjects were measured by placing the instrument on their left and right ankles. The distances determined by three-dimensional measurements (width, length, height) from the center of the heel to the bottom edge of the lateral malleolus and the bottom edge of the medial malleolus were measured to 0.1 millimeters. The intratester reliability was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) and standard errors of measurement (SEM). [Results] Excellent intratester reliability was confirmed. The ICCs ranged from 0.87 to 0.97 with SEMs between 0.76 and 2.93. [Conclusion] The results confirm that our device has excellent reliability when assessing the alignment of the lateral and medial malleolus. Furthermore, the simple design of the device and its easy method of use render our evaluation method useful for physical therapy clinical settings.