Foot/Ankle Flashcards
plantar flexion/dorsiflexion
-sagittal plane rotation of one foot bone with respect to another
hindfoot/rearfoot varus
-inward angled hindfoot position in frontal plane
hindfoot/rearfoot valgus
-outward angled hindfoot position in frontal plane
forefoot varus
-inward angled forefoot in frontal plane
forefoot valgus
-outward angled forefoot in frontal plane
forefoot adductus
-inward angled forefoot in transverse plane
forefoot abductus
-outward angled forefoot in transverse plane
high arch
-higher than normal medial longitudinal arch
low arch
-lower than normal medial longitudinal arch
pes cavus
-foot posture that is characterized by a high arch and hindfoot varus
pes planus
-foot posture that is characterized by a low arch and hindfoot valgus
Ankle joint movements
- DF/PF
- sagittal
Subtalar (talocalcaneal)
- supination
- pronation
Supination
- frontal - inversion
- transverse - adduction
- sagittal - PF
Pronation
- frontal - eversion
- transverse - abduction
- sagittal - DF
Transverse tarsla joint (Choparts, talonavicular and calcaneocuboid)
- inversion/eversion - frontal
- adduction/abduction - transverse
- PF/DF - sagittal
Lisfranc joint (tarsal-metatarsal joint)
- inversion/eversion - frontal
- adduction/abduction - transverse
- PF/DF - sagittal
Forefoot
- inversion/eversion - frontal
- adduction/abduction - transverse
- PF/DF - sagittal
Bones in the foot
- 28
- 7 tarsals
- 5 MTs
- 14 phalanges
- 2 sesamoid
3 sections of foot
hindfoot (talus and calcaneous)
midfoot (tarsal bones - cuneiform, cuboid, navicular)
forefoot (metatarsals and phalanges)
Ankle mortise (ankle joint - talocrural)
-distal tibia and fibula and trochlea of talus
-hinge, uniaxial
SUPPORTING LIGAMENTS:
1) lateral - ATFL, calcaneofibular
2) posterior - talofibular
3) medial - deltoid
Subtalar
-talus (inferior facets) and calcaneous (superior facets)
-hinge (uniaxial)
SUPPORTING LIGAMENTS:
1) lateral - calcaneofibular
2) medial - deltoid
3) midline - interosseous talocalcaneal
Calcaneocuboid
-calcaneous (anterior) and cuboid (posterior)
-planar - non-axial
SUPPORTING LIGAMENTS:
long and short plantar
Talonavicular
-talus and navicular
-ball and socket, triaxial
SUPPORTING LIGAMENTS:
-plantar calcaneonavicular (spring)
Tarsometatarsal
-medial cuneiform and 2nd metatarsal
-planar, non-axial
SUPPORTING LIGAMENTS:
-dorsal, plantar, and lisfranc (interosseous)
1st MT
-proximal phalangeal and 1st MT
-bicondylar, biaxial
SUPPORTING LIGAMENTS:
1) sesamoid collateral
2) intersesamoid ligament
Lateral compartment muscles
-fibular muscles
Deep posterior compartment muscles
- though to play a major role in supinating the subtalar joint
- flexor hallucis longus
- flexor digitorum longus
- tibialis posterior
Anterior compartment muscles
- primarily DFs of ankle joint
- tib anterior
- fibularis tertius
- extensor digitorum longus
- extensor hallucis longus
Intrinsic foot muscles - medial compartment
- abductor hallucis
- flexor hallucis brevis
Intrinsic foot muscles - central compartment
- quadratus plantae
- flexor digitorum brevis
- adductor hallucis
- lumbricals
Intrinsic foot muscles - lateral compartment
- abductor digiti minimi
- flexor digit minimi
Intrinsic foot muscles - deep compartment
-dorsal and plantar interossei
Windlass mechanism
-plantar fascia plays key roll in supporting medial longitudinal arch
Releasing plantar fascia
- 52% increased load on long plantar ligament
- 94% increased load on plantar calcaenonavicular (spring) ligament
- likely to lead to failure of spring ligament
Rotation of tibia and ankle biomechanics
- translate through the talus because of the tight fit in the ankle mortise
- IR of tibia = lowers medial longitudinal arch
- ER of tibia = raises medial longitudinal arch
- BUT adding a foot orthoses to correct this may increase stress on the knee due to the hips being the major controller of the tibial movement
DF during gait
- at initial contact, foot is slightly dorsiflexed
- moves to neutral at foot flat (10-15% of stance)
- gradually moves into DF through mid and terminal stance peaking at 70-80% of stance
primary propulsion during gait
ankle plantarflexors
Subtalar movement during gait
- subtalar joint pronates at IC to foot flat
- rapidly supinates during terminal stance
What contributes to stabilizing the midfoot and raising the arch during terminal stance?
1) bony anatomy
2) ligamentous support
3) muscle action
Hallux DF during gait
- up to 60* during heel rise
- hallux stays in contact with teh ground during terminal stance and is an area of high pressure
Hallux and energy absorption
-absorbs a great amount of energy an dmay contribute to eccentric contraction of muscles in the 1st MTP joint
Acquired adult pes planus causes
1) gastroc/soleus tightness
2) tib posterior tendon dysfunction
3) midfoot laxity
4) abduction of forefoot
5) ER of hindfoot
6) subluxation of talus
7) traumatic deformities
8) ruptured plantar fascia
9) charcot foot
10) neuromuscular imablance
Functional problems with pes planus
- midfoot instability
- for forces to transfor from the achilles tendon to teh floor for push off, the midfoot must be a rigid lever
Pes planus altered kinematics
1) hindfoot eversion
2) forefoot abduction
3) forefoot DF
theorized to move the subtalar joint, talonavicular, and medial cuneiform 1st mt joints closer to end range –> leads to highe rilgament loading and dependence on muscle control
Causes of pes cavus
- much less common and less well understood than pes planus
1) neurmuscular problems in childhood and in the elderly
2) overactivity of tib posterior or tib anterior or both
3) ER of tibia
Pes cavus positional changes to foot
1) hindfoot = inverted
2) midfoot = inverted
3) forefoot = PF and adduction
Runners and pes cavus
- experience more ankle injuries (lateral ankel sprains)
- experience more bone injuries (5th met stress fractures)
Reasons why pes cavus is under diagnosed
1) lack of experience of clinicians
2) objective clinical measures are not clear
3) no accepted clinical sign
Recognition and assessment of pes cavus
1) observation
2) rOM
3) strength
4) coleman block test
peek a boo sign
-when you can see the medial heel when looking at the person from the front - may indicate pes cavus
Pes cavus + hallux
-increased MTP joint df and decreased pf
Pes planus + hallux
-decreased DF
Pes cavus + MTs
-prominent MT heads
pes planus + MTs
-higher level of hallux valgus and limitus
Pes cavus + toes
-increased incidence of claw and hammer toes
Pes planus + toes
N/A
pes cavus + radiographs
-increased talocalcaneal angle
pes planus + radiographs
-increased lateral talometatarsal angle
Pes cavus treatment
- directed at accomodating the rigid structure
- goal of shoe or orthotic is improve shock absorption and distribute pressure
- custom made orthotics were better than sham in recent study - for pain and resolution of symptoms
Foot posture index
- IDs a series of specific foot postures to rate
- quick and easy
- captures gross foot posture
- areas of measurement: talar head position, supralateral and infralateral malleolar curvature, calcaneal frontal plane position, prominence of talonavicular joint, congruence of medial arch, abduction/adduction of forefoot
Visual assessment of photos
- visual assessment of whether foot is flat, low arch, normal, high arch, cavus
- quick and easy
- captures gross foot posture
- reliability may be lower when applied to subtle foot postures
foot print analysis
- various methods are used to capture the imprint of the foot
- quick and easy
- various quantitative measures possible
- plantar soft tissue may cause errors
Navicular height
- measurement of the height of the navicular in various levels of WB (seated, 10%, standing, 50%)
- quick and easy
- palpation of navicular heigh is not always easy in patients with severe foot flat
dorsum height
- measurement of dorsum heigh in various levels of WB (seated, 10%, standing, 50%)
- quick
- requires a special jig or instrumentation system
Longitudinal arch angle
- measurement of angle between medial malleoli, navicular, and 1st MT head
- quick and easy
- palpation of navicular may be hard in pts with severe foot flat
foot line test
- measurements taken from an outline of foot print
- quick and easy
- information is related to medial position of navicular
Navicular drop
- measures height of navicular during seated and standing
- quick and easy
- palpation of navicular can be hard in pts w/ severe foot flat
- difference in navicular heigh greater than 10mm bw the 2 positions indicates + test
navicular drift
- measures the medial lateral displacement of navicular from subtalar neutral to relaxed in standing
- requires various positioning by pt
- palpation of subtalar neutral is not always consistent
hindfoot and forefoot position
- standing hindfoot valgus and prone forefoot varus/valgus
- requires various positioning by patient
- palpation of subtalar neutral is not always consistent
- studies vary in reliability estimates
Arch height index
- quantitative assessments of foot posture
- custom made device or digital caliper used to assess height of dorsum of foot
single leg balance testing
- can be used to evaluate athletes at risk for sprained ankles
- 18-39 = 43 seconds EO, 10 sec EC
- 40-49 = 40 sec EO, 7 sec EC
- 50-59 = 37 sec eo, 5 sec EC
- 60-69 = 26sec EO, 3 sec EC
- 70-79 = 15 sec EO, 2 sec EC
- 80-89 = 6 sec EO, 1 sec EC
Foot lift test
-counts teh number of foot lifts that occur over a 30 second interval
Star excursion balance test
-more dynamic and challenging
Heel raise test
- both bilatearl and unilateral
- endurance test
- healthy population = 25
Functional tests for return to sport
1) timed lateral step down
2) timed leap and catch hop sequence
3) single leg hop for distance
4) single leg timed hop
5) single leg triple hop for distance
6) crossover hop for distance endurance sequence
7) square hop test
8) lower extremity functional test (LEFT)
Side hop test
- participants hop laterally a distance of 30cm
- one rep is hopping 30 cm and back to starting locations
- pts asked to complete 10 reps as quick as possible
- SCORING: time it takes to complete 10 reps.
- FAILING: puts contralateral foot down, does not complete 30 cm, falls
6 meter crossover hop test
- 2 6 meter lines, 15 cm apart, placed on floor
- participant hops on 1 limb back and forth across the lines until he or she completes the 6 m distance as fast as possible
- SCORING: time it takes to complete 6 m distance
- FAILING: puts C/L foot down, does not clear lines, falls
Square hop test
- 40x40 box is marked on floor
- patient starts outside the square and hops in and out of each side of the box (4 hops in, 4 hops out)
- patient completes 5 cycles
- SCORING: time to complete hops
- FAILING: falls, misses line, places opposite foot down
Figure 8 hop test
- 5m course designated by cones
- pt hops on one limb 2 times around the course as fast as possible
- SCORING; time to complete 2 reps around cones
- FAILING: falls, mises a cone, places opposite foot down
Anterior drawer test
- ankle in 10-20* of PF
- gently pull the calcaneous anterior and assess the forward translation of talus
- result: laxity or tear of ATFL if pain is reproduced ant/inf to lateral malleolus or if forward translation is greater than 3mm on involved side
Talar tilt test
- ankle in 20* pf or ankle in 10* DF
- examiner passively moves calcaneous into max inversion
- PF position biases for assesment of ATFL
- DFL biases for assessment of CFL
- test may not be sensitive enough to distinguish between ATFL, CFL and ATFL-CFL injuries
- results: laxity or tear is suspected if pain is reproduced inferior to lateral malleolus, ankle inversion is 15* greater on impaired vs. unimpaired side, or empty end feel
DF-external rotation test
-knee 90* flexed, ankle in max DF, passively ER the involved foot/ankle
-result: pt reports anterolateral pain in area of syndesmosis, then + for high (syndesmotic) ankle sprain
Sens. 71%, Spec. 63%
Squeeze test
- pain in NWB position, squeeze fibula and tibia together just above midpoint of calf
- result; pain in area of syndesmosis, then + for high ankle sprain
sens. 26%, spec. 88%
Syndesmosis ligament palpation
-pt in supine or sitting - palpate anterior inferior tibofibular ligament and posterior inferior tibiofibular ligament
-result: TTP = high ankle sprain. the more proximal the TTP the more severe the injury
sens 92%, spec. 29%
Cotton test
-pt in supine or sitting, stabilize distal tibia and grasp rear foot. Attempt to move talus and calcaneous medial and lateral
-result: translation of talus in ankle mortise = syndesmotic instability
Spec 71%, sens 29%
Fibula translation test
-pt supine - stabilize distal tibia and move lateral malleolus ant/post
-result: pain reproduced along syndesmosis = +
Sens 64%, spec 57%
Thompson (calf squeeze) test
-patient prone, knee flexion to 90*, compress plantar flexors at middle third of posterior calf
-result: if achilles is intact, ankle should passively plantar flex. if no motion, achilles is completely or partially torn
sens 96%, spec 93%