EDITORIAL NOTE There are three pages of the description There is one page of claims ANKLE ENDURANCE MEASUREMENT DEVICE - SPECIFICATION Technical Field The present disclosure is directed to measuring devices used in medical assessments and rehabilitation of injuries. Specification, the present disclosure concerns a standardized measuring device for measuring calf strength endurance. Background A common clinical test of calf muscle fatigue involves rising and lowering body weight on one leg as many times as possible until the test is either not completed correctly, or the participant complains of pain or fatigue in the calf muscle. There are many different measuring protocols with the use of often complex devices. Evaluation of lower leg function in patients with Achilles tendinopathy by Silbernagel KG, Gustavsson A, Thomee R and Karlsson J published in 2006 describes a device to measure calf strength; however, the device of Silbernagel is big, heavy and not portable. The Silbernagel device can therefore only be used in the clinic where the device is set up. The reliability of isokinetic testing of the ankle joint and a heel-raise test for endurance by Moller M, Lind K, Styf J, Karlsson J published in 2005 describes a device using a light beam on vertical rods pre-set at a height of 5cm. The device of Moller emits an audible click when an individual's foot passes this height. The disadvantage of M61ler's device is that it has a pre-set and non-adjustable height and hence does not allow individualised testing. Additionally, the reliance on the audible click means the tests needs to be performed in a quiet room and the device needs to be attached to electricity. Reliability of a device measuring triceps surae muscle fatigability by M Haber, E Golan, L Azoulay, S R Kahn, I Shrier published in 2004 describes a portable device with four pre-set holes at either side of the apparatus and an adjustable rod placed in one of those pre-set holes at the front of the foot. Although the device of Haber allows for some ability to individualize this test, the safety of placing the rod at the front of the foot is questionable. In the event an individual loses balance while performing the test, the rod prevents the individual from stepping off easily. Additionally, the device only has four settings that might not fit all.
Utilisation of a standardised apparatus assists in monitoring, quantifying, and replicating a test. However, the apparatus itself needs to be simple, portable and reliable, particularly if it is to be used clinically. A universally accepted standardisation of the calf-raise test and consequently an apparatus that allows for standardised and individualised evaluation protocols is not available at this point in time. Therefore, a device and measurement protocol to provide the platform for such results is desirable. Summary of the invention According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a device for measuring calf muscle endurance comprises a wooden platform; two small blocks attached to each end on the bottom of the platform; two L-shape bracket attached opposite of each other on either side of the platform; and an elastic band attached on each end to each of the two L-shape brackets. The L-shape brackets are moveable up and down the platform. The elastic band can be slid up and down the L-shape brackets thereby allowing the device to be adjusted to for each individual needs. Brief Description of the Figures Fig .1 illustrates a bottom view of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 2 illustrates a top view of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 3 illustrates a front view of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 4 illustrates a side view of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. All measurements indicated in the drawings are in centimetres. Detailed Description Figure 1 illustrates an ankle endurance measuring device according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. The device includes a 44.5 cm x 40.5 cm (LxW) wooden platform [1] onto which two small wooden blocks each of 31cm x 4.2 cm(LxW) [2,3] are glued to the bottom. The wooden blocks [2,3] lift the platform slightly off the ground.
Figures 2 - 4 illustrate two medium sized 'L'-brackets [4,5], which are placed parallel to each other on either side of the platform [1] and which can be moved forwards or backwards depending on the individuals foot length. The setting as illustrate in Figure 3 has proven to fit the vast majority of individuals. In the setting of Figure 3, the L-brackets [4,5] are placed 12.5 cm away from the back of the platform [1] and 23.10cm from each other. The L-brackets [4,5] are screwed onto the platform [1] with two small 'G'-clamps 12 x 8 cm (LxW) [6,7] as shown in Figures 2 - 4. Figures 2 - 3 show the elastic band [10], which is placed horizontally between the L-shape brackets [4, 5] and held in place by two small spring clamps [8,9]. The L-shape brackets [4,5], the elastic band [10], the G-clamps [6,7] and the spring clamps [8,9] are adjustable, so that the device is able to fit a wide variety of individuals. The spring clamps [8,9] facilitate the sliding of the elastic band [10] up and down the L-brackets [4,5] to cater for each individual's maximum heel raise height. Adjustment of the spring claims [8,9] and the elastic band [10] can be performed while the individual is standing on the platform and performing a heel raise. The platform [1], the small wooden blocks [2,3], the L shape brackets [4,5], the G-clamps [6,7],the spring clamps [8,9] and the elastic band [10] are all constructed from lightweight materials, and removably attached to each other to facilitate repeated assembly and disassembly of the device, thereby enabling the device to be portable. Before performing a test on an individual, the apparatus is adjusted to the individual's maximum heel raise by the following steps: 1. Placing the individual's heel (barefoot) on the elastic band [10] between the L-brackets [4,5] with the individual's foot pointing to the front of the platform. 2. Having the individual perform a maximum heel raise, with extended knee. 3. Adjusting the elastic band by sliding the spring clamps [8,9] up or down until the elastic band is cleared from the heel and in a horizontal position. 4. Having the individual lower their heel back onto the platform. 5. Having the individual perform another heel raise to determine if the height is indeed their maximum, and confirming that the individual clears the elastic band on each heel raise. 6. Upon a positive confirmation above, commencing the test to have the individual raise and lower their heel to the beat of a metronome set at a rate of 46 beats/min (23 heel raises/min) until the individual is unable to perform a technically correct heel raise.