Comparison of the clinical heel rise test in subjects with Stage II PTTD and healthy controls

Introduction The heel rise test is commonly used as a strength test for the triceps surea muscle group but has also become widely used as a functional task to aid in the diagnosis of Posterior Tibial Tendon Dysfunction (PTTD) [1,2]. Although failure to invert the hindfoot during the heel rise test is reported to be a sign of failure in the posterior tibial muscle, posterior tibialis function may also contribute to forefoot plantar flexion, assisting with raising the heel off the floor. Midfoot collapse associated with weakness of the posterior tibialis muscle may limit a PTTD subjects' ability to plantar flex the forefoot during the heel rise test. The purpose of this study was to compare sagittal plane ankle and midfoot kinematics as well as HF frontal plane kinematics in subjects with stage II PTTD and healthy controls during a bilateral heel rise test.