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Sonographic evaluation of hindfoot disorders

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Abstract

Foot pain is a common orthopedic condition that can have an impact on health-related quality of life. The evaluation of plantar hindfoot pain begins with history and physical examination. Imaging modalities, standard radiographs, sonography, MR, CT are often utilized to clarify the diagnosis. The article is a detailed description of the sonographic evaluation of the plantar fascia and its disorders as well as the common etiologies in the differential diagnosis of plantar fasciopathy.

Riassunto

Il dolore al piede è una condizione ortopedica comune, che può avere un impatto sulla qualità della vita legata alla salute. La valutazione del dolore del retro-piede inizia con l’anamnesi e con l’esame fisico. Le varie modalità di imaging, radiografie standard, ecografia, risonanza magnetica, TC, sono spesso utilizzate per chiarire la diagnosi. L’articolo è una descrizione dettagliata della valutazione ecografica della fascia plantare e dei suoi disturbi, nonché delle patologie che più frequentemente entrano nella diagnosi differenziale con le malattie della fascia plantare.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge and thank Jay Smith, M.D. and the Mayo Clinic Procedural Skills Laboratory for access to the cadaveric specimens and photography of the plantar foot dissections.

Conflict of interest

Douglas F. Hoffman, Heather L. Grothe, Stefano Bianchi declare that they have no conflict of interest related to this paper.

Human and animal studies

The study described in this article does not include any procedures involving humans or animals.

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Correspondence to Douglas F. Hoffman.

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Hoffman, D.F., Grothe, H.L. & Bianchi, S. Sonographic evaluation of hindfoot disorders. J Ultrasound 17, 141–150 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40477-014-0089-2

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