Measuring the range of motion at the ankle joint

  Staff        March 16, 2014

The range of motion at the ankle joint is so important for normal foot function. If the calf muscles are tight a range for problems can occur due to the change that happens in the biomechanics. Is is particularly important in children and can lead to problems with toe walking. In athletes, the tightness can lead to a range of different overuse injuries. From a clinical perspective checking the ankle joint range of motion is important this range of motion is measured accurately and reliably so that proper clinical decisions get made when to treat the limitation or not. A lot of attention has been given by podiatrists in recent years to the lunge test. This is a weightbearing measurement of the range of motion of the ankle joint and has been shown to be much more useful than other methods of measuring the range of motion.

A fracture of the LisFranc Joint

  Staff        March 2, 2014

Looking around the forums, the fracture of the LisFranc joint is an interesting problem. Lots of people are posting messages in forums asking for help and advice for their fracture. I not sure that this is necessarily a good thing to get medical advice online in forums, but the numbers of people asking for advice was what I found surprising. The LisFranc joint is the joint between the tarsus and metatarsus bones across the midfoot. It is named after the French surgeon, Jacques Lisfranc de St. Martin, who first described the injury during the War of the Sixth Coalition. The injury usually happen when a large weight, such has the foot being driven over by a car, occur. As a results there is often multiple fractures and dislocations that occur. This also means that most cases are not the same and the management of them is complex, hence so many people asking for advice online.

Are differences in leg length important?

  Staff        January 25, 2014

Depends. Everyone has a one leg that is longer than another, but often the difference is so small its not necessarily detectable. Obviously, if a large amount, there is probably going to be problems due to the changes in alignment of the spine and other parts of the body. Obviously if the difference is a miniscule amount, its probably not going to be a problem. Where the debate and discussion is just where is the cut-off point is as to if the difference is clinically significant or not. Some people think a few millimeters is important; yet others think that its not important until it at least a few inches. It is also going to depend on activity levels. A few millimeters might be important if you run marathons. A few inches is not going to be important is you lead a sedentary lifestyle. There is very little research to guide this process. More information is certainly needed to base decisions on.