Ankle Special Tests

With the foot positioned at 90 degrees to the lower leg and stabilized, the calcaneus is inverted. Excessive motion of the talus indicates injury to the calcaneofibular and possibly the anterior and posterior talofibular ligaments

Patient is prone and then you squeeze the gastrocnemius. If the foot doesn't plantar-flex, a + indication of a ruptured Achilles tendon is present. *Also check the long flexors

The patient is supine and the examiner passively dorsi-flexes the foot while the knee is extended. It's a + test if pain is felt in the calf which indicates deep vein thrombophlebitis.

The patient is supine and the foot is relaxed and the knee is flexed at 90 degrees. To check the anteriortslofibular, cup the calcaneus and brace the lower leg and pull forward. To check the posteriortalofibular you push back the calcaneus. It's a + test if laxity is present.

Patient should be seated with the knee flexed and the legs over the end of the table. Use one hand to stabilize the lower leg and the other to hold the medial aspect of the foot and rotate it laterally. Pain over the deltoid ligament indicates injury to that structure, whereas pain over the lateral malleolus likely indicates injury to the syndesmosis

Use one hand to hold the talus in subtalar neutral, then glides the calcaneus in a medial direction on the fixed talus. In a positive test, there is excessive movement, indicating injury to the lateral ligaments

A gentle percussive blow can be given upword on the bottom of the heel. Such blows set up a vibratory force that resonates at the fracture causing pain. Compression or squeeze test the tibia and fibula are compressed either above or below the fracture site. Increased pain over the area of point tenderness may indicate fx.

With the foot in a neutral position, transverse pressure is applied to the heads of the metatarsals, causing sharp pain in the forefoot. A positive test may indicate metarsalgia or neuroma.

Tapping over the posterior tibial nerve produces tingling distal to that area. Numbness, tingling, and paresthesia may indicate the presence of tarsal tunnel syndrome.