BBR Ankle Arthrometer – Laptop version

Ankle injury is one of the more important areas of sports related research due to its high prevalence as the most common musculoskeletal injury.

Laxity (abnormally large range of motion) of the Ankle joint has been shown to be related to ankle sprain both as a result of and possibly as a cause of lateral ankle sprain.  Typical chronic laxity occurring after ankle sprain includes anterior laxity of the foot relative to the tibia and sometimes inversion laxity of the foot relative to the tibia.

The Hollis Ankle Arthrometer™ was developed to provide objective measurement of the Anterior-Posterior Laxity and Inversion Laxity of the Ankle-Subtalar Joint Complex.

The A-P ankle joint laxity is measured as the examiner applies the A-P force through a load measuring handle.  Likewise the Inversion-Eversion (I-E) joint laxity is measured as the I-E rotational load is applied to the handle.

The device has been proven to provide reproducible results both between sessions and between observers with some practice.

Ankle  Arthrometer Use:

The ankle arthrometer is first camped to the foot and a reference pad is strapped to the shin.

The ankles are then loaded with 125N (28LB) of anterior-posterior (AP) force. The displacement of the ankle is recorded along with the load. The total AP displacement is measured as the AP laxity. For inversion-eversion (IE) rotation, the ankle is loaded at a 4 N-m (35 in-LB) IE torque while the foot rotation (degrees) is recorded along with the torque. The total IE rotation at 4 N-m is measured as the IE laxity.

This method is quick, completely portable, and easy to use in the field. No X-ray required!

The results of the Arthrometer enable a researcher to research prediction of who is susceptible to injury, preparation of inherently lax ankles and prevention ankle sprain by wrapping and bracing when appropriate. Researchers would also be able to study the management of injuries, residual symptoms and the return to action based on objective measurements to prevent further injury. Researchers can monitors the progress of recovery of ankle stability.

The advantages of the Arthrometer over other research methodology include cost and time savings compared to an x-ray and the ability to be used anywhere.

The Ankle Arthrometer has been used at several United States institutions including:

• University of North Carolina Charlotte
• University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
• Penn State University
• University of Florida
• University of Kentucky
• University of Delaware
• University of Virginia
• University of South Alabama
• University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
• University of Toledo
• University of Wisconsin
• Georgia Southern University
• Armed forces hospital
• Appalachian State University
• New York University
• Old Dominion University
• In addition to these US institutions, Universities in Sydney Australia and Tokyo, Japan have purchased the Ankle Arthrometer

For more information on studies/research conducted with Hollis Ankle Arthrometer™, see bibliography

The Hollis Ankle Arthrometer™ is available in two versions. This version comes with an included windows® notebook computer for recording and displaying the test results which is connected to the arthrometer by a USB cable