Lateral hop movement assesses ankle dynamics and muscle activity

Ankle function is frequently measured using static or dynamic tasks in normal and injured patients. The purpose of this study was to develop a novel task to quantify ankle dynamics and muscle activity in normal subjects. Twelve subjects with no prior ankle injuries participated. Video motion analysis cameras, force platforms, and an EMG system were used to collect data during a lateral hop movement task that consisted of multiple lateral-medial hops over an obstacle. Mean (SD) inversion ankle position at contact was 4.4° (4.0) in the medial direction and -3.5° (4.4) in the lateral direction; mean (SD) tibialis anterior normalized muscle activity was 0.11 (0.08) in the medial direction and 0.16 (0.13) in the lateral direction. The lateral hop movement was shown to be an effective task for quantifying ankle kinematics, forces, moments, and muscle activities in normal subjects. Future applications will use the lateral hop movement to assess subjects with previous ankle injuries in laboratory and clinical settings.