Leg-Heel Alignment Related to Sports Injuries of the Lower Extremities

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate leg-heel alignment (LHA) related to sports injuries of the lower extremities in teen-agers. Subjects comprised 13 patients with sports injuries and 27 normal controls. Injuries included fatigue fracture, tendinitis of Achilles tendon and plantaris, and ilio-tibial band syndrome. We measured LHA in prone and standing positions and the pronation angle (standing-LHA-prone-LHA) was calculated as the clinical relevance of subtalar motion. Prone-LHA was not significant in the two groups. But the pronation angle in subjects who had sustained sports injuries was lower than that of normal controls (p<0.01). We concluded that subtalar motion in the sports injury patients was poor compared with normal controls.