Predicting talocalcaneal joint orientations from talocalcaneal/talocrural joint orientations.

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the capacity of talocalcaneal/talocrural joint orientations to predict talocalcaneal (TC) joint orientations. A custom designed orientation-loading fixture was used to position the calcaneus and shank with six degrees of freedom, and to apply loads in three orthogonal directions. Three reference pins were rigidly mounted in the calcaneus, talus, and shank segments to provide position data in 243 test situations. Test data were fitted to statistical models using analysis of variance. The models were then used to determine the capacity to predict talus positions from shank positions, both with respect to the calcaneus. Results indicated large between and within specimen variation and was attributed to individual joint morphology. It was concluded that (a) eversion-inversion orientations of the TC/talocrural joint were not always accurate indicators of TC joint orientations, (b) abduction-adduction orientations of the combined joint had the greatest overall influence on TC orientations (thus, monitoring eversion-inversion and abduction-adduction orientations of the combined joint would be more valuable in predicting pronation-supination positions than monitoring only eversion-inversion orientations), and (c) foot categories based on TC and TC/talocrural joint morphology should be developed. They would provide more accurate prediction for specimen foot orientations than prediction from overall average values.