Validation of Joint Position Sense of Dorsi-Plantar Flexion of Ankle Measurements Using a Smartphone

Abstract

ObjectivesThis study evaluated and validated the reliability of smartphones as measuring equipment for the dorsi-plantar flexion of ankle joint position sense (JPS) ability.MethodsThe subjects were 20 healthy young students in their 20s. We confirmed the concurrent validity by comparison with existing electrogoniometer data. The reliability of the smartphone was confirmed using the test-retest method.ResultsIn the case of dorsiflexion, there was no significant difference between the smartphone and electrogoniometer groups (p > 0.05). Regarding the correlation, it was significantly high (r = 0.65, p 0.05), the correlation was significantly high (r = 0.69, p 0.05), the correlation was intermediate (r = 0.59, p 0.05), the correlation was significantly high (r = 0.63, p < 0.05), and the ICC(3,1) was good (ICC(3,1) = 0.76).ConclusionsThe results showed that smartphones provide high validity and reliability as measurement equipment for JPS of dorsi-plantar flexion of the ankle. Finally, the study also considers that smartphone-based JPS measuring methods may replace the traditional and expensive methods that are currently being used for the same purpose.

Keywords

• proprioception
• smartphone
• ankle
• equipment
• validation studies