Lying supine or sitting
Ask the patient to remove shoes and socks to allow direct palpation on the skin.
Anterior to the patient.
Please lie on your back (or sit). May I touch the top of your foot? (or demonstrate).
Guide the patient to lie supine or sit with the foot flat on the supporting surface (or other position), so that the ankle is plantarflexed. If given permission, place your thumbs distal to the tibia and on the dorsal surface (dome) of the talus. This area may be easier to palpate with passive dorsiflexion, which causes the dome to glide posteriorly and become less palpable, and passive plantarflexion, which causes the dome to glide anteriorly and become more palpable.
VH - Tibia, fibula and foot skeleton showing the talus ñ add the tibialis anterior, extensor hallucis longus, extensor digitorum longus, peroneus tertius, superior and inferior retinacula on one side