Isokinetic Characteristics of Ankle Evertors and Invertors in Female Control Subjects Using the Biodex Dynamometer

The purpose of this study was to examine the reliability of a specific test protocol using the Biodex dynamometer to assess the ankle evertors and invertors. In addition, this research provides descriptive information about the strength characteristics of these two muscle groups. Twenty-nine female subjects volunteered for strength testing of both ankles at two different speeds: 60 degrees/sec and 120 degrees/sec. The intraclass correlation coefficients for torque measurements taken on three separate occasions ranged from 0.83 to 0.94. Using a three-way ANOVA with repeated measures, the torque values of the dominant and nondominant ankle did not differ significantly (p \u3e 0.05). The ankle evertors were significantly weaker than the invertors in all strength measurements. All strength measurements were also significantly different at the two speeds used for testing. Body weight and lean body mass were both better predictors of strength (r = 0.51 to r = 0.82) than height was (r = 0.40 to r = 0.63). This research confirmed the reliability of isokinetic testing of the ankle evertors and invertors using the Biodex dynamometer and provided baseline ankle torque and work output values for young, healthy females