IA Kapandji

KB Ball

Kevin A Ball

Thomas M Greiner

TM Greiner

English

PubMed

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Assessing talonavicular joint rotations in three dimension

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BioMed Central
Journal of Foot and Ankle Research
ssOpen AcceOral presentation
Assessing talonavicular joint rotations in three dimension
Thomas M Greiner*1 and Kevin A Ball2
Address: 1Department of Health Professions, University of Wisconsin – La Crosse, USA and 2Department of Physical Therapy, University of 
Hartford, USA
Email: Thomas M Greiner* - greiner.thom@uwlax.edu
* Corresponding author    
Introduction
The union of the spherical talar head with the cupped
shaped navicular shows the general characteristics of a
ball-and-socket joint [1]. As such, the talonavicular joint
should be expected to demonstrate three rotational
degrees of freedom. Yet, conventional approaches to foot
motion analysis provide little opportunity to assess
motion of the intrinsic foot joints. A new approach, and
perspective, is adopted that permits an appreciation of the
talonavicular joint that is not restricted to the confines of
marker dependence or the orthogonal reference frame.
Data will be presented that shows talonavicular rotation
about independent axes that possess orientations that are
not orthogonal to any conventional reference frame.
Methods
Data are derived from the legs of 23 non-pathological
embalmed cadavers. Legs were prepared by removing all
soft tissue, so that only ligamentous structures remained
to sustain limb integrity. Each specimen was cycled
through three mutually orthogonal driving actions
(Plantarflexion-Dorsiflexion [PD], Inversion-Eversion
[IE], and Medial-Lateral Rotation [ML]) while monitoring
the relative positions of the talus and navicular with an
active-marker tracking system The Functional Alignment
method [2] was used to derive joint axis orientations and
motion patterns for three rotational degrees of freedom.
These results are summarized using the axis triangle tech-
nique [3].
Results
Figure 1 shows consensus (average) axis triangle represen-
tations for the three driving motions. The position of each
vertex (axis point) along with its distance from the refer-
ence frame origin denotes the orientation of the rotational
axis and the movement that occurs about it. The sizes and
shapes of the three different triangles indicate that the tal-
onavicular joint responds differently to each driving
action. None of the vertices of these axis triangles lies on
the axes of the reference frame, which indicates that every
from 1st Congress of the International Foot & Ankle Biomechanics (i-FAB) community
Bologna, Italy. 4–6 September 2008
Published: 26 September 2008
Journal of Foot and Ankle Research 2008, 1(Suppl 1):O50 doi:10.1186/1757-1146-1-S1-O50
<supplement> <title> <p>1st Congress of the International Foot &amp; Ankle Biomechanics (i-FAB) community</p> </title> <editor>Alberto Leardini, Chris Nester, Alex Stacoff and Dieter Rosenbaum</editor> <note>Meeting abstracts – A single PDF containing all abstracts in this Supplement is available <a href="http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/files/pdf/1757-1146-1-S1-full.pdf">here</a>.</note> <url>http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1757-1146-1-S1-info.pdf</url> </supplement>
This abstract is available from: http://www.jfootankleres.com/content/1/S1/O50
© 2008 Greiner and Ball; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 
The consensus axis triangles associated with the three evalu-ated driving actionFigure 1
The consensus axis triangles associated with the three evalu-
ated driving actions.Page 1 of 2
(page number not for citation purposes)
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rotational axis of this joint has a highly oblique orienta-
tion.
Figure 2 compares the mobility-size assessment of total
joint mobility observed in the three driving motions for
each subject. Although the talonavicular joint is shown to
be most mobile in response to the IE driving motion, in
many instances the mobility-size values associated with
the other driving motions are nearly as high. This suggests
that the talonavicular movement is not restricted to, or
even mostly associated with, a single action of the foot.
Conclusion
The talonavicular joint is a true three degree of rotational
freedom joint. It responds in unique ways to different
driving inputs. To identify and understand these differ-
ences, it is necessary to adopt a perspective that is not lim-
ited to movements aligned with an orthogonal reference
frame.
References
1. Kapandji IA: The physiology of the joints.  E&S Livingstone; 1970. 
2. Ball KB, et al.: Proceedings of ISB 3D 2004. Tampa, FL 2004.
3. Greiner TM, Ball KB: Am J Phys Anthropo Supl 2008, 46:107.
Expressions of total joint mobility based on the three driving actions in the 23 subjectsFigure 2
Expressions of total joint mobility based on the three driving actions in the 23 subjects. Bars are keyed: ML White; IE Gray; PD 
Black.Page 2 of 2
(page number not for citation purposes)


Greiner Thomas M

Ball Kevin A

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Assessing talonavicular joint rotations in three dimension

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