Abstract
BackgroundAdequate sagittal plane motion of the first metatarsalphalangeal joint (1st MTPJ) is important during normal gait and goniometric measurement is commonly used as a diagnostic and outcome assessment tool. We aimed to determine the intra and inter-rater reliability together with the concurrent validity of a universal plastic goniometer (UG) and a smartphone applicationlication (Dr G) for the measurement of dorsiflexion at the 1st MTPJ.MethodsMeasurement of joint position and passive range of motion of the 1st MTPJ dorsiflexion was compared using a UG and DrG goniometer. A double-blind repeated measures design was utilized, with intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) used to determine levels of reliability.ResultsFor joint position good intra-rater reliability (ICC >0.861) and good inter-rater reliability (ICC >0.823) was noted. However, the Dr G application consistently measured lower angles (mean 27.8° (SD 8.37)) than the UG (mean 32° (SD 11.7)) and these associations were significant (r = 0.399, p < 0.001). For passive range of motion, the mean total range of dorsiflexion motion (from maximum plantarflexed position to maximum dorsiflexed position) was 82.8° (SD 12.2) for the UG and 82.9° (SD 11.3) for the Dr G application. Both instruments demonstrated high levels of intra-rater reliability (ICC >0.809). Inter-rater reliability was moderate to good for the UG (ICC 0.693 (95 % CI 0.580 to 0.788)) and good for the Dr G application (ICC 0.708 (95 % CI 0.597 to 0.799)).ConclusionsModerate to high intra and inter-rater reliability of joint position and passive 1st MTPJ motion can be achieved with traditional and smartphone-based goniometric measurement. The Dr G application may provide a slightly higher reliability, but devices should not be used inter-changeably as significant variation in measurement between devices may occur.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13047-015-0088-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Adequate sagittal plane motion of the first metatarsalphalangeal joint (1st MTPJ) is important during normal gait and goniometric measurement is commonly used as a diagnostic and outcome assessment tool
The Smartphone application used in this study was the Dr Goniometer (Dr G) application, (CDM S.r.L, Cagliari, Italy) together with a traditional, hand-held universal goniometer (UG)
The mean position of the 1st MTPJ measured with the universal plastic goniometer (UG) was 32° (SD 8.02), whereas the mean measurement from the Dr G device was 27.8° (SD 11.7)
Summary
Adequate sagittal plane motion of the first metatarsalphalangeal joint (1st MTPJ) is important during normal gait and goniometric measurement is commonly used as a diagnostic and outcome assessment tool. Reference values from radiographic studies for 1st MTPJ dorsiflexion of between 40° to 100° have been reported by Joseph [9] and 82° by Buell et al [10] These studies made no reference to the reliability of measurement. Traditional hand-held goniometers remain the most commonly used tool in the clinical setting to assess joint position and range of motion [13,14,15]. These instruments are simple and quick to use and relatively inexpensive
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