Background: Manual evaluation is an important method for assessing ankle instability, but it is not quantitative. Capacitance-type sensors can be used to measure the distance on the basis of the capacitance value. We applied the sensor to the noninvasive device for measuring ankle instability and showed its utility. Methods: First, 5 ankles embalmed by Thiel’s method were used in an experiment using a cadaver. The capacitance-type sensor was fixed alongside the anterior talofibular ligament (ATFL) of a specially made brace, and the anterior drawer test was performed. The test had been performed for the intact ankle, with the ATFL transected and with both the ATFL and calcaneofibular ligament (CFL) transected. The anterior drawer distance was calculated by the sensor. Intra- and interinvestigator reliability were also analyzed. Next, as a clinical study, a brace with a sensor was fitted to 22 ankles of 20 patients with a history of ankle sprain. An anterior drawer test at a load of 150 N was conducted using a Telos stress device. The anterior drawer distances measured by the sensor and based on radiographic images were then compared. Results: The mean anterior drawer distances were 3.7 ± 1.0 mm for the intact cadavers, 6.1 ± 1.6 mm with the ATFL transected ( P < .001), and 7.9 ± 1.8 mm with the ATFL and CFL transected ( P < .001). The intrainvestigator intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were 0.862 to 0.939, and the interinvestigator ICC was 0.815. In the experiments on patients, the mean anterior drawer distance measured by the sensor was 2.9 ± 0.9 mm, and it was 2.7 ± 0.9 mm for the radiographic images. The correlation coefficient between the sensor and the radiographic images was 0.843. Conclusion: We quantitatively evaluated anterior drawer laxity using a capacitance-type sensor and found it had high reproducibility and strongly correlated with stress radiography measurements in patients with ankle instability. Capacitance-type sensors can be used for the safe, simple, and accurate evaluation of ankle instability.

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Background: Arthroscopic labral repair is an effective treatment for femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) and acetabular labral injury. However, the effectiveness of physiotherapy treatment is controversial. Previous studies that analyzed the outcome of physiotherapy for patients with FAI or acetabular labral tears did not consider damaged tissues or the severity of the acetabular labral tear. This study aimed to evaluate (1) the short-term outcome of physiotherapy in patients with acetabular labral tears confirmed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and (2) the effectiveness of physiotherapy according to the severity of the labral tear.Methods: Thirty-five patients who underwent physiotherapy for symptomatic acetabular labral tears from August 2013 to July 2018 were enrolled. We evaluated the severity of the acetabular labral tears, which were classified based on the Czerny classification system using 3-T MRI. Clinical findings of microinstability and extra-articular pathologies of the hip joint were also examined. Outcome scores were evaluated using the International Hip Outcome Tool 12 (iHOT12) at pre- and post-intervention.Results: The mean iHOT12 score significantly improved from 44.0 to 73.5 in 4.7 months. The post-intervention iHOT12 scores were significantly higher than the pre-intervention scores at stages I (pre 51.0, post 74.4; P=0.004) and II (pre 44.8, post 81.2; P<0.001). However, there were no significant differences between the pre-intervention and post-intervention iHOT12 scores at stage III (pre 36.6, post 60.8; P=0.061). Furthermore, 7 patients (20.0%) had positive microinstability tests, and 22 (62.9%) had findings of extra-articular pathologies. Of 35 patients, 8 (22.9%) underwent surgical treatment after failure of conservative management, of whom 4 had Czerny stage III.Conclusions: Physiotherapy significantly improved the iHOT12 score of patients with acetabular labral tears in the short-term period. In patients with severe acetabular labral tear, improvement of clinical score by physiotherapy may be poor. Identifying the severity of acetabular labral tears can be useful in determining treatment strategies.

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Purpose The aim of this study was to evaluate the short-term outcome of physiotherapy in patients with acetabular labral tears and to assess the effectiveness of physiotherapy according to the severity of the labral tear. Materials and Methods Thirty-five patients who underwent physiotherapy for treatment of symptomatic acetabular labral tears were enrolled. We evaluated the severity of the acetabular labral tears, which were classified based on the Czerny classification system using 3-T MRI. Clinical findings of microinstability and extra-articular pathologies of the hip joint were also examined. The International Hip Outcome Tool 12 (iHOT12) was use for evaluation of outcome scores pre- and post-intervention. Results The mean iHOT12 score showed significant improvement from 44.0 to 73.6 in 4.7 months. Compared with pre-intervention scores, significantly higher post-intervention iHOT12 scores were observed for Czerny stages I and II tears (all P <0.01). However, no significant difference was observed between pre-intervention and post-intervention iHOT12 scores for stage III tears ( P =0.061). In addition, seven patients (20.0%) had positive microinstability findings and 22 patients (62.9%) had findings of extra-articular pathologies. Of the 35 patients, eight patients (22.9%) underwent surgical treatment after failure of conservative management; four of these patients had Czerny stage III tears. Conclusion The iHOT12 score of patients with acetabular labral tears was significantly improved by physiotherapy in the short-term period. Improvement of the clinical score by physiotherapy may be poor in patients with severe acetabular labral tears. Determining the severity of acetabular labral tears can be useful in determining treatment strategies.