ABSTRACT
This study attempted to develop a motor functional index, ankle stance angle (ASA),
to assess rat sciatic nerve regeneration subsequent to autografting. ASA, 50° in normal
rats, is the ankle joint angle at the mid-stance phase of the gait cycle. In a nerve
graft group, a 1-cm segment of the right sciatic nerve was transected and then repaired
with nerve autograft. In an ungrafted group, the nerve gap was left unrepaired. ASA
measured 4 months after surgery was statistically significantly larger in the nerve
graft group (36°) than in the ungrafted group (22°). The results suggest that ASA
is more sensitive than sciatic function index in detecting functional recovery after
a complete sciatic nerve lesion. ASA also showed a significant correlation with the
passive range of ankle joint motion and gastrocnemius muscle weight. The study concluded
that ASA is a reliable index for assessment of regeneration of rat sciatic nerve after
a complete lesion. The intra-rater reliability (r = 0.97 and 0.90) and inter-rater
reliability (r = 0.85) tests performed support the conclusions.
