Search

Background Ankle joint functional assessment tool (AJFAT) is gradually becoming a popular tool for diagnosing functional ankle instability (FAI). However, due to the lack of standard Chinese versions of AJFAT and reliability and validity tests, the use of AJFAT in the Chinese population is limited. This study aimed to translate and cross-culturally adapt the AJFAT from English into Chinese, and evaluate the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of AJFAT and to investigate its psychometric properties. Methods The translation and cross-cultural adaptation of AJFAT was performed according to guidelines for cross-cultural adaptation of self-report measures. 126 participants with a history of ankle sprain completed the AJFAT-C twice within 14 days and completed the Cumberland ankle instability tool (CAIT-C) once. Test–retest reliability, internal consistency, ceiling and floor effects, convergent and structure validity and discriminative ability were investigated. Results The test–retest reliability (ICC = 0.91, 95%CI = 0.87–0.94) and internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.87) of the AJFAT-C were excellent. No ceiling or floor effects were detected. A moderate correlation between the AJFAT-C and the CAIT-C suggested a moderate convergent validity. The AJFAT-C had a two-factor structure: 1. function of the unstable side of the ankle joint (9 items) and 2. symptoms of the unstable side of the ankle (2 items). The ideal cut-off point of the AJFAT-C was calculated as 26 points. Conclusion The Chinese version of AJFAT can be considered as a valid and reliable ankle joint function evaluation tool that can be applied in clinical and research work.

The assessment of muscle architecture with B-mode ultrasound is an established method in muscle physiology and mechanics. There are several manual, semi-automated and automated approaches available for muscle architecture analysis from ultrasound images or videos. However, most approaches have limitations such as workload, subjectivity, drift or they are applicable to short muscle fascicles only. Addressing these issues, an algorithm was developed to analyse architectural parameters of the vastus lateralis muscle (VL). In 17 healthy young men and women, ultrasound images were taken five times on two different days during passive knee joint flexion. From the images, fascicle length (FL), pennation angle (PAN) and muscle thickness (MTH) were calculated for both test days using the algorithm. Interday differences were determined using a two-way ANOVA. Interday and intraday reliability were assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and root mean square (RMS) differences. FL, MTH and PAN did not differ between day one and two. The within day ICCs were above 0.94 for all tested parameters. The average interday ICCs were 0.86 for the FL, 0.96 for MTH and 0.60 for PAN. The average RMS differences between both days were 5.0%, 8.5% and 12.0% for MTH, FL and PAN, respectively. The proposed algorithm provides high measurement reliability. However, the interday reliability might be influenced by small differences in probe position between days.