Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Objective: To determine if a difference exists in toe flexors strength and passive extension range of motion of the first metatarsophalangeal joint between individuals with unilateral plantar fasciitis and control subjects. Background: Weakness of the dynamic longitudinal arch supporters and shortening of the plantar fascia have been suggested as etiologic factors for plantar fasciitis. Methods and Measures: Twenty subjects with unilateral plantar fasciitis participated in the study. Subjects had had symptoms for an average (±SD) of 19.9 ± 33.2 months prior to participating in the study. Twenty control subjects matched for sex and age were also tested. Each subject was measured bilaterally for passive extension range of motion of the first metatarsophalangeal joint and peak resistance force observed during an isometric test of toe flexors strength. Results: Subjects with unilateral plantar fasciitis demonstrated weaker toe flexors (PϽ.05) than the control subjects. A significant main effect for feet also indicated that the toe flexors for the involved feet were significantly weaker than the uninvolved feet (PϽ.05) of subjects with unilateral plantar fasciitis. Passive extension range of motion of the first metatarsophalangeal joint was not significantly different between the involved and the uninvolved feet for subjects with plantar fasciitis. Conclusion: Results for our subjects indicate that the extensibility of soft tissues influencing extension of the first metatarsophalangeal joint was not related to the presence of plantar fasciitis. Additional research is needed to determine if toe flexors weakness is a cause or a result of plantar fasciitis and if strengthening regimes for the toe flexors are effective interventions for plantar fasciitis. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2003;33:468-478.

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Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury after primary reconstruction and return-to-sport clearance is common. Since research indicates asymmetry as a valid predictor of injury, it is proposed that inter-limb asymmetry following ACL reconstruction contributes to the elevated incidence of re-injury in this population. Current return-to-sport protocol include objective tests such as joint laxity and strength tests, as well as single leg hop and drop landing tests. Since these assessments are based on visual observation, or simple kinematics measurements, it is unclear how visual asymmetry reflects the underlying joint forces and muscular effort responsible for the performance in these tasks. This study aims to assess the asymmetry present at the kinematic, kinetic, and motor control levels to clarify the after-effects of ACL reconstruction. This pilot study will help us appreciate if additional work exploring screening measures as effective tools for predicting ACL injury following primary reconstruction is warranted. Standard techniques will be used to measure the kinematics, joint kinetics and muscle activation during this 25-repetition squat protocol. Correlations will compare the left and right lower limbs for joint angular displacement, joint angular velocity, joint power, vertical ground reaction forces, and muscle activation amplitude.