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Forefoot and Toes

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Manual of Musculoskeletal Ultrasound

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Abstract

The act of walking impacts the forefoot and may produce plantar plate tears, metatarsal fractures, and bursitis. A wrong step may introduce foreign bodies. The list of causes of forefoot pain is long. The clinician evaluates foot pain with a history, physical, and radiographs. Still, many diagnoses are elusive without an MRI, an impractical modality for every patient with forefoot pain. Ultrasound assists in forefoot pain assessment since many pathologic conditions are sonographically accessible. Ultrasound is beneficial for identifying, characterizing, and treating foreign bodies. Ultrasound can evaluate for radiographically invisible fractures, joint effusions, and soft tissue conditions such as plantar plate tears, Morton’s neuromas, forefoot bursae, and other masses. Gout, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis may also be accurately assessed by ultrasound. Although not as accurate as MRI in specific areas, ultrasound enables dynamic examination to determine the integrity of tendons. Further, ultrasound precisely guides needle aspiration and injection.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, SC, USA

    Mark H. Greenberg

  2. Division of Rheumatology, Columbia VA Health Care System, Department of Internal Medicine, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, SC, USA

    Alvin Lee Day

  3. Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, Advocate Christ Medical Center, Advocate Medical Group, Chicago, IL, USA

    Suliman Alradawi

Authors
  1. Mark H. Greenberg
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  2. Alvin Lee Day
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  3. Suliman Alradawi
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Correspondence to Mark H. Greenberg .

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Greenberg, M.H., Day, A.L., Alradawi, S. (2023). Forefoot and Toes. In: Manual of Musculoskeletal Ultrasound . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-37416-6_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-37416-6_15

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-37416-6

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