Diurnal variations in volume of the foot and ankle

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to determine if there were any diurnal variations in volumes of the right and left foot and ankle volumes in normal subjects. The study also sought to determine the consistency of volumetric measurements of the human foot. Twenty normal subjects were included in the study. Ten were ambulant, and 10 subjects were bed bound for 9 hours. A commercially available volumeter was used to take volumetric measurements of the subjects. Three readings of each foot and ankle were taken at four different times of the day and used as data. Alpha reliability analysis revealed that the measurements were highly reliable (alpha value for the right leg was .9998 and for the left .9997) and suitable for an objective evaluation of edema. The ANOVA test indicated no statistically significant diurnal change in the foot and ankle volume (p = .000006). These data suggest that it is possible to consider an uninjured foot and ankle of a normal subject as a control limb, at any given time of the day, in an ambulatory or nonambulatory situation and compare its volume with that of the injured side. This can be a valuable piece of information to quantify the amount of swelling on the injured ankle as compared to the normal one and may allow one to assess the effect of a treatment modality on reducing traumatic foot and ankle swelling. The use of such an apparatus for volumetric analysis was recommended in traumatic foot and ankle swellings and in a research scenario because of its accuracy.