Subjects
Six men and six women (aged 22-34years) with no known history of neuromusculardisorders or ankle injury volunteered to participate in the study. The experimental procedures and guidelines explained in the informed consent forms signed by each subject conformed to standards approved by the University of Washington Human Subjects Committee. Subjects qualified for participation if their right ankle ROM with knee flexion was greater than 45 degrees(measured as the angle formed by the intersection of lines parallel to the longitudinal axis of the fibula and the longitudinal axis of the fifth metatarsal, that
is, the ankle angle decreasing with dorsiflexion) during extreme passive muscle stretching. According to this criterion, all subjects reported ROM limitations because of shortness of calf musculature compared with structural mobility of
the ankle joint.