Fig 1.
Sound head placement on the lateral STJ.
“A = Ultrasound probe; B = Vibration generator platform; C = End of ultrasound probe positioned over the lateral talar neck; D = End of ultrasound probe positioned over the distal lateral calcaneus; E = Calcaneal point of contact over the vibration generator”.
Fig 2.
Color Doppler images of the STJ from the lateral side in three different levels of Threshold Unit (TU) settings.
(a) with TU setting high, vibration detected on both talus and calcaneus as recognizable by color pixels on both talus and calcaneus; (b) vibration no longer detected in talus = TUtalus; as recognizable by missing color pixels on talus; (c) vibration no longer detected in calcaneus = TUcalcaneus: as recognizable by missing color pixels on calcaneus: T = talus and C = calcaneus.
Table 1.
In vivo subject demographics.
Table 2.
Descriptive statistics for pertinent outcome data.
Table 3.
Rater reliability for all measures.
Fig 3.
Histogram of dorsum PROM divided into classifications and measured with an electrogoniometer.
Included data are mean and 95% CI (error bars). The Normal Stiffness group (*) and Decreased Stiffness group (**) mean scores each demonstrated significantly greater PROM versus the Increased Stiffness group.
Fig 4.
Scatter plot of STJ Stiffness (ΔTU) and dorsum PROM (degrees) values.
Squares = Increased stiffness with a significant and meaningful correlation (r = .853,p = .031,n = 6; adjusted R2 = 0.659) with corresponding line-of-best-fit (A); Triangles = Normal stiffness group with a poor and non-significant relationship (r = -.042,n = 15,p = .882,R2 = .002) with corresponding line-of-best-fit (B); and Circles = Decreased stiffness group with a poor and non-significant relationship (r = -.014,n = 7,p = .977,R2 = .0002) with corresponding line-of-best-fit (C).