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Journal of Foot and Ankle Research
Published in: Journal of Foot and Ankle Research 1/2009

Open Access 01-12-2009 | Research

Reliability and normative values for the foot mobility magnitude: a composite measure of vertical and medial-lateral mobility of the midfoot

Authors: Thomas G McPoil, Bill Vicenzino, Mark W Cornwall, Natalie Collins, Meghan Warren

Published in: Journal of Foot and Ankle Research | Issue 1/2009

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Abstract

Background

A study was conducted to determine the reliability and minimal detectable change for a new composite measure of the vertical and medial-lateral mobility of the midfoot called the foot mobility magnitude.

Methods

Three hundred and forty-five healthy participants volunteered to take part in the study. The change in dorsal arch height between weight bearing and non-weight bearing as well as the change in midfoot width between weight bearing and non-weight bearing were measured at 50% of total foot length and used to calculate the foot mobility magnitude. The reliability and minimal detectable change for the measurements were then determined based on the assessment of the measurements by three raters with different levels of clinical experience.

Results

The change in dorsal arch height between weight bearing and non-weight bearing, midfoot width between weight bearing and non-weight bearing, and the foot mobility magnitude were shown to have high levels of intra-rater and inter-rater reliability. Normative data are provided for the left and right feet of both the female (n = 211) and male (n = 134) subjects.

Conclusion

While the measurements of navicular drop and drift have been used as a clinical method to assess both the vertical and medial-lateral mobility of the midfoot, poor to fair levels of inter-rater reliability have been reported. The results of the current study suggest that the foot mobility magnitude provides the clinician and researcher with a highly reliable measure of vertical and medial-lateral midfoot mobility.
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Metadata
Title
Reliability and normative values for the foot mobility magnitude: a composite measure of vertical and medial-lateral mobility of the midfoot
Authors
Thomas G McPoil
Bill Vicenzino
Mark W Cornwall
Natalie Collins
Meghan Warren
Publication date
01-12-2009
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
Journal of Foot and Ankle Research / Issue 1/2009
Electronic ISSN: 1757-1146
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/1757-1146-2-6

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