Reliability of hindfoot goniometry when using a flexible electrogoniometer

State-of-the-art goniometry has been used to investigate the reliability of current clinical methods of assessing subtalar movement. Studies have been performed to investigate the influence of subject position and the use of active or passive movement on measured subtalar motion. In addition, because of its importance in determining ranges of inversion and eversion, the repeatability of determining the subtalar neutral position has been studied. It has been shown that there are large variations (up to 7°) between the neutral positions determined by different clinically experienced observers. It was concluded that while the electrogoniometer is a reliable clinical measuring instrument, the currently used methods for assessing neutral position, and therefore ranges of inversion and eversion of the hindfoot, are unreliable.

The clinical assessment of subtalar motion forms an essential part of the examination of the pathological foot. Furthermore, the establishment of the subtalar neutral position is required for the production of many foot orthoses. This paper describes the use of an electrogoniometer for making the relevant measurements and examines the important aspects of the clinical procedure.