A Fast Testing Method to Objectively Quantify the Stiffness of Stability Boots

Stability boots can protect the ankle ligaments from overloading after serious injury and facilitate protected movement in order to aid healing of the surrounding soft tissue structures. For comparing different stability shoe designs and prototypes, a reliable and fast testing method (FTM) is required. The aim of this study was to assess the reliability of a novel custom-built device. Six different stability boots were tested in a novel device that allowed body weight to be taken into account using a pneumatic actuator. The fixation of the boots was controlled using two air pad pressure sensors. The range of motion (RoM) was then assessed during 5 trials at physiological ankle joint torques during flexion/extension and inversion/eversion. Furthermore the intraclass correlation coefficient ICC was determined to assess the repetitive reliability of the testing approach. The measured ankle angles ranged from 3.4° to 25° and proved to be highly reliable (ICC=0.99), with standard deviations