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Role of ultrasound in posteromedial tarsal tunnel syndrome: 81 cases

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Abstract

Posteromedial tarsal tunnel syndrome is a disorder affecting the tibial nerve or its branches. Diagnosis is established on the basis of physical examination and can be confirmed by electrophysiological evidence. However, diagnostic imaging is always required to identify the possible site of compression. High-resolution ultrasound (US) is playing an increasingly important role in the study of the nerves thanks to a series of advantages over magnetic resonance imaging, such as lower costs and widespread availability, high spatial resolution, fast examination using axial scans, dynamic and comparative studies, possibility of carrying out a study with the patient in the standing position, US Tinel sign finding, and the contribution of color/power Doppler US. We present the results obtained in a series of 81 patients who underwent US imaging between 2008 and 2013 due to posteromedial tarsal tunnel syndrome.

Riassunto

La sindrome del tunnel tarsale posteriore-mediale è una sofferenza del nervo tibiale o di un suo ramo. La diagnosi è clinica e può essere confermata dall’elettrofisiologia, ma un’indagine con imaging è sempre necessaria per trovare l’elemento di compressione. L’ecografia ad alta risoluzione sta giocando un ruolo sempre più importante per lo studio dei nervi, per i diversi vantaggi rispetto alla risonanza magnetica: costo e disponibilità, risoluzione spaziale, esplorazione rapida mediante tecnica di scansione assiale, dinamica e comparativa, possibilità di uno studio con paziente in piedi, segno di Tinel ecografico, contributo del Doppler.

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Conflict of interest

Olivier Fantino declares that he has no conflict of interest related to this study.

Informed consent

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. Informed consent was obtained from all patients.

Animal studies

The study described in this article did not include any procedures involving animals.

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  1. Service d’Imagerie Médicale, Clinique du Parc Lyon France, 155 bis boulevard Stalingrad, 69006, Lyon, France

    Olivier Fantino

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  1. Olivier Fantino
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Correspondence to Olivier Fantino.

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Fantino, O. Role of ultrasound in posteromedial tarsal tunnel syndrome: 81 cases. J Ultrasound 17, 99–112 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40477-014-0082-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40477-014-0082-9

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