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Context: Despite the importance of patient's subjective reports of function, little research has addressed their use in the athletic population.
Objective: To examine the following measurement properties of the Foot and Ankle Disability Index (FADI) and the FADI Sport: (1) intersession reliability during 1- and 6-week intervals, (2) sensitivity to differences between healthy subjects and subjects with chronic ankle instability (CAI), and (3) sensitivity to changes in function in those with CAI after rehabilitation.
Design: Test-retest design.
Setting: Laboratory setting.
Patients or Other Participants: Fifty recreationally active subjects.
Main Outcome Measure(s): FADI and FADI Sport.
Results: Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC 2, 1) for the FADI and FADI Sport at 1 week were 0.89 and 0.84, respectively, for the involved limbs. Over 6 weeks, the ICC values for the involved limb of subjects who did not complete rehabilitation were 0.93 and 0.92, respectively. For both surveys, scores were significantly less for the involved limbs of subjects with CAI compared with their uninvolved limbs (P < .05). No significant side-to-side differences were noted among the healthy subjects. Scores on both surveys increased significantly after rehabilitation (FADI: P < .05, effect size = 0.52; FADI Sport: P < .05, effect size = 0.71).
Conclusions: The FADI and FADI Sport appear to be (1) reliable in detecting functional limitations in subjects with CAI, (2) sensitive to differences between healthy subjects and subjects with CAI, and (3) responsive to improvements in function after rehabilitation in subjects with CAI.
Key Words: clinical outcome measure, self-report of function, functional scales
Lateral ankle sprains are one of the most common injuries among athletes and other young, active adults.1-5 According to Brooks et al,6 the incidence of lateral ankle sprain is approximately 1 per 10000 people per day. Ankle sprains are commonly seen in sports that involve jumping and cutting and account for 15% to 45% of all sports injuries.7-10 A reported 10% to 30% of these individuals with ankle sprains develop chronic ankle instability (CAI).11,12 Despite the frequency of ankle instability, no widely accepted outcomes tool is available to measure ankle function.13
Clinical outcome measures in orthopaedics have traditionally focused on measuring impairments, such as range of motion and strength.11,14 It is impairments that are often addressed by clinicians in setting goals...