Ankle joint complex mobility of children 7 to 14 years old.

The ranges of motions of the ankle have been studied only rarely in children. The authors examined the mobility of the ankle joint complex of 245 healthy children. The mean age was 10.2 years. In healthy children ages 7 to 14 years, the variation of the ankle joint complex range of motion was wide. The largest gender-related difference was recorded for passive plantarflexion, which was greater in girls. Other statistically significant gender differences do exist, but they are small and probably lack clinical meaning. Some of the children had remarkable left-right difference in the range of motions of the ankle joint complex. This means that the "healthy ankle" cannot necessarily be used in clinical practice as a reference when evaluating, for example, treatments of foot and ankle injuries in children.