Assessing the dynamic foot mobility magnitude using an image-based analysis system

Numerous static measurement methods have been developed to aid with the clinical evaluation of the dynamic foot posture. Although some of these methods provided high measurement reliability and validity, there is limited research correlating the static measurements with the dynamic foot measurements during activities such as gait. To explore whether the Foot Mobility Magnitude (FMM) can be used to predict mid-foot posture during gait, static caliper measurements from two testers were compared with measurements obtained during gait using a photogrammetric measurement system utilising camcorders. The results obtained from the study showed that the photogrammetric measurement system provided slightly higher Intra-class rater reliability (0.951-0.992) results than the static caliper measurements (0.901-0.991). The Inter-rater reliability was found to be high between the testers (0.824-0.953) but only moderate between the photogrammetric measurements and manual measurements conducted by the testers (0.693-0.900). Results obtained from an ANOVA determined that there is a significant difference between the static and dynamic FMM measurements (p <; 0.05). It is hence concluded that to gain better insight into the dynamic behaviour of the foot, the use of video based measurement techniques is recommended.