Absorbent paper method for recording children foot progression angle

Because of its relation to the transverse plane rotation, the foot progression angle (FPA) remain an important gait parameter for the clinicians. FPA can be measured with electronic plantar pressure platform, but this mean requires an expensive equipment.

The purpose of this study was to develop an inexpensive and easy-to-use technique to measure FPA in a daily orthopedic clinic, and examine its days-to-days reliability.

Foot prints from children with “in-toeing” gait were collected with a standardized technique using water, an absorbent paper and a goniometer. Two trials per subject were analyzed in a period of two weeks. The relative reliability of the method was assessed with repeated measures one-way analysis of variance and calculation of intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Absolute disparity was determined by mean coefficient of variation (CV), limits of agreement (LOA) and standard error of measurement (SEM).

Gait parameters have been collected from both sides from 13 patients. Statistical analyses revealed that ICC was excellent (0,83), CV was acceptable (23%), as well as SEM (2,32) and LOA [-3,63; 1,36] using this method.

Used by the same observer, our method to measure FPA seems to be reliable and easy to implement in an outpatient department. A simpler technique to measure FPA, using absorbent paper, has already been published but their statistical method to confirm reliability and reproducibility remain incomplete. Our study is the first to validate the reproducibility of a simple and accessible method.

鉴于其与横断面旋转的关系，足部行走角度（FPA）始终是临床医生关注的步态参数。足部行走角度（FPA）可通过电子足底压力平台进行测量，然而，此类测量方法需要昂贵的设备。本研究旨在开发一种经济实惠且易于在每日骨科门诊中使用的FPA测量技术，并检验其日间可靠性。采用标准化的技术，利用水、吸水纸和量角器收集了患有“内八字”步态儿童的足印。每位受试者在两周内进行两次试验。通过重复测量的单因素方差分析和计算组内相关系数（ICC）来评估方法的相对可靠性。绝对差异通过平均变异系数（CV）、一致性和差异范围（LOA）以及测量误差（SEM）来确定。从13名患者的两侧收集了步态参数。统计分析显示，使用该方法，ICC卓越（0.83），CV可接受（23%），SEM（2.32）以及LOA[-3.63; 1.36]。由同一观察者使用，我们的FPA测量方法似乎具有可靠性且易于在门诊部门实施。已发表了一种使用吸水纸测量FPA的更简单技术，但其用于确认可靠性和重复性的统计方法尚不完整。我们的研究是首次验证了一种简单且易于获取的测量方法的重复性。