Figure of 8 Method | Ankle Swelling

Execution:

1. Patient is in long sit on a bench with the leg extended and the ankle hanging over the long edge of the bench
2. The examiner runs a tape measure around the ankle in a “figure of 8” manner starting between the anterior tibial tendon and the lateral malleolus
3. The tape is guided laterally under the foot to the medial arch, touching the plantar surface of the foot lightly and towards the lateral malleolus behind the achilles tendon
4. The tape then leads back to the starting position at the medial malleolus

 

Outcome: The number of centimeters on the tape measure is used to judge the amount of swelling

Study	Reliability	Sn	Sp	LR+	LR-
dos Reis et al. (2004)	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
Watson et al. (2008)	ICC=0.99	NA	NA	NA	NA