Stability boots can protect the ankle ligaments from overloading after serious injury and facilitate protected movement in order to\naid healing of the surrounding soft tissue structures. For comparing different stability shoe designs and prototypes, a reliable and\nfast testing method (FTM) is required. The aim of this study was to assess the reliability of a novel custom-built device. Six different\nstability boots were tested in a novel device that allowed body weight to be taken into account using a pneumatic actuator. The\nfixation of the boots was controlled using two air pad pressure sensors. The range of motion (RoM) was then assessed during 5\ntrials at physiological ankle joint torques during flexion/extension and inversion/eversion. Furthermore the intraclass correlation\ncoefficient ICC was determined to assess the repetitive reliability of the testing approach. The measured ankle angles ranged from\n3.4âË?Ë? to 25âË?Ë? and proved to be highly reliable (ICC = 0.99), with standard deviations <9.8%. Comparing single trials to one another\nresulted in a change of 0.01âË?Ë? joint angle, with a mean error of 0.02âË?Ë?.The FTM demonstrates that it is possible to reliably measure\nthe ankle joint RoM in both the sagittal and frontal planes at controlled torque levels, together with the application of body weight\nforce.
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