Mr. Pierrynowski et Sb. Smith, EFFECT OF PATIENT POSITION ON THE CONSISTENCY OF PLACING THE REARFOOTAT SUBTALAR NEUTRAL, Journal of the American Podiatric Medical Association, 87(9), 1997, pp. 399-406
The ability of foot care specialists to place a rearfoot at the subtal
ar neutral position is important for the care of patients who require
foot orthosis prescription, fabrication, and management. Although some
clinicians perform this procedure with the patient in the prone posit
ion, others prefer a seated or standing approach. This study examined
whether patient position and preferred patient position influence the
ability of clinicians to place a subject's rearfoot at the subtalar ne
utral position. The results suggest the following: a clinician's abili
ty to find the subtalar neutral position is better with a seated subje
ct; clinicians do not necessarily perform better assessments on a subj
ect in a position corresponding to their patient position preference;
and clinicians who prefer their patients prone generally have more fle
xible and reproducible observations. In addition, the findings suggest
that the nature and relative importance of the tactile and visual cue
s used by clinicians to place a rearfoot at the subtalar neutral posit
ion warrant further exploration.