Search

Background: Turnout in ballet is produced through summation of the joint structure characteristics and ranges of motion at the hip, knee, ankle, and foot. Contributions of the hip joint to functional turnout in dancers have received extensive examination, whereas little is known about contributions from the knee, ankle, and foot. The aim of this study was to explore the nonhip components of turnout to dancers' functional turnout in first position by assessing passive external tibiofemoral rotation and active measures of foot pronation, ie, navicular drop and Foot Posture Index., Methods: Nineteen female university-level dance students aged 16 to 19 years participated in this descriptive correlational study. External tibiofemoral rotation, navicular drop, Foot Posture Index, and functional turnout were measured for the participants' right and left legs., Results: Regression analyses revealed a weak relationship between passive external tibiofemoral rotation and functional turnout. Correlation analysis revealed a moderate negative relationship between passive tibiofemoral external rotation and the Foot Posture Index in functional turnout., Conclusions: These findings suggest that the lower leg does contribute to dancers' overall position of functional turnout. However, current methods are not useful in predicting a dancer's lower-leg contribution and alignment in functional turnout in first position.

Plantar pressure-measurement technology is being increasingly used by podiatric physicians and surgeons in both clinical practice and research. The authors present normal reference-range values for peak pressure, mean pressure, and pressure-time integral obtained from 30 healthy subjects using a two-step recording technique and the EMED-SF system, as background for proposed clinical trials. Normative data of this type are essential for clinical practice in the comparison of plantar pressure-measurement values of individual patients with those of normal, asymptomatic feet.

Plantar pressure-measurement technology may provide the clinician with valuable objective information for monitoring the effects of therapeutic intervention on the foot. The use of this technology is described in the preoperative and postoperative assessment of a patient undergoing hallux valgus surgery for the treatment of a chronic neuropathic skin ulcer over the medioplantar aspect of her first metatarsophalangeal joint.