Plantar fasciopathy—looking beyond the obvious? A case report

Background The biggest challenge in treating this diagnosis is the lack of literature focusing on regional interdependence. The current literature suggests a narrow and localized approach targeting plantar fascia and ankle/foot complex. The literature available on conservative treatment focused on utilizing various inflammatory modalities such as injections and extracorporeal shockwave therapy. The surgical approach targets Baxter’s nerve decompression techniques and releases techniques to the gastrocnemius and plantar fascia. The article focuses on utilizing manual therapy techniques to the lumbosacral spine and plantar fascia. In addition, the neurodynamic flossing targeted lateral plantar nerve mobility. Case presentation The patient is a 54-year-old African American female seen for right heel pain at Texas’s outpatient orthopedic physical therapy clinic. The patient had the diagnosis of plantar fasciopathy with negative Windlass testing. The patient was provided manual therapy interventions to the lumbosacral spine and plantar fascia to improve weight-bearing patterns and overall functional outcomes. Conclusion The manual therapy interventions to the lumbosacral spine and plantar fascia and flossing techniques to the lateral plantar nerve improved symptoms of heel pain. The patient showed improved outcomes with this approach.

An MRI study of the tibial nerve in the ankle canal and its branches: a method of multiplanar reformation with 3D-FIESTA-C sequences

Background The visualization of the tibial nerve and its branches in the ankle canal is helpful for the diagnosis of local lesions and compression, and it is also useful for clinical observation and surgical planning. The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of three-dimensional dual-excitation balanced steady-state free precession sequence (3D-FIESTA-C) multiplanar reformation (MPR) display of the tibial nerve and its branches in the ankle canal. Methods The subjects were 20 healthy volunteers (40 ankles), aged 22–50 years, with no history of ankle joint disease. The 3D-FIESTA-C sequence was used in the 3.0 T magnetic resonance equipment for imaging. During scanning, each foot was at an angle of 90° to the tibia. The tibial nerve of the ankle canal and its branches were displayed and measured at the same level through MPR. Results Most of the tibial nerve bifurcation points were located in the ankle canal (57.5%), few bifurcation points (42.5%) were located at the proximal end of the ankle canal, and none of them were found away from the distal end. The bifurcation between the medial plantar nerve and the lateral plantar nerve was on the line between the tip of the medial malleolus and the calcaneus, and it’s angle ranged between 6° and 35°. In MPR images, the display rates of both the medial calcaneal nerve and the subcalcaneal nerve were 100%, and the starting point of the subcalcaneal nerve was always at the distal end of the starting point of the medial calcaneal nerve. In 55% of cases, there were more than two medial calcaneal nerve innervations. Conclusion The 3D-FIESTA-C MPR can display the morphological features and positions of the tibial nerve and its branches and the bifurcation point’s projection position can be marked on the body surface. This method not only benefited the imaging diagnosis of the tibial nerve and branch-related lesions in the ankle canal, but it also provided a good imaging basis to plan a clinical operation of the ankle canal and avoid surgical injury.

MRI Study on Tibial Nerve of the Ankle Canal and Its Branches:A method of multiplanar reconstruction with 3D-FIESTA-C sequences

Background: The visualization of the tibial nerve and its branches in the ankle canal is helpful for the diagnosis of local lesions and compression, and it is also useful for clinical observation and surgical planning.The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of three-dimensional dual-excitation balanced steady-state free precession sequence (3D-FIESTA-C) multiplanar reformation (MPR) display of the tibial nerve and its branches in the ankle canal.Methods:The subjects were 20 healthy volunteers (40 ankles), aged 22-50 years, with no history of ankle joint desease. The 3D-FIESTA-C sequence was used in the 3.0T magnetic resonance equipment for imaging. Duringscanning, each foot was at an angle of 90 degrees to the tibia.The tibial nerve of the ankle canal and its branches were displayed and measured at the same level throughMPR.Results: Most of the tibial nerve bifurcation points were located in the ankle canal (57.5%), few bifurcation points (42.5%) were located at the proximal end of the ankle canal, and none of them were found away from the distal end. The bifurcation between the medial plantar nerve and the lateral plantar nerve was on the line between the tip of the medial malleolus and the calcaneus, and it’s angle ranged between 6° and 35°. In MPR images, the display rates of both the medial calcaneal nerve and the subcalcaneal nerve were 100%, and the starting point of the subcalcaneal nerve was always at the distal end of the starting point of the medial calcaneal nerve. In 55% of cases, there were more than two medial calcaneal nerve innervations.Conclusion: The 3D-FIESTA-C MPR can display the morphological features and positions of the tibial nerve and its branches and the bifurcation point’s projection position can be marked on the body surface. This method not only benefited the imaging diagnosis of the tibial nerve and branch-related lesions in the ankle canal, but it also provided a good imaging basis to plan a clinical operation of the ankle canal and avoid surgical injury.

MRI Study on Tibial Nerve of the Ankle Canal and Its Branches:A method of multiplanar reconstruction with 3D-FIESTA-C sequences

Background: The display of tibial nerve and its branches in the ankle canal is helpful for the diagnosis of local lesions and compression, and also for clinical observation and surgical planning. The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of three-dimensional dual-excitation balanced steady-state free precession sequence (3D-FIESTA-C) multiplanar reformation (MPR) display of tibial nerve and its branches of the ankle canal.Methods: The subjects were 20 healthy volunteers (40 ankles), aged 22-50, with no history of ankle joint disease. 3D-FIESTA-C sequence was used in the 3.0t magnetic resonance equipment for imaging. During the scanning, each foot was at a 90-degree angle to the tibia. The tibial nerve of the ankle canal and its branches were displayed and measured at the same level through multiplanar reformation.Results: Most of the tibial nerve bifurcation points were located in the ankle canal (57.5%), few (42.5%) were located at the proximal end of the ankle canal, and none was found away from the distal end. The bifurcation between the medial plantar nerve and the lateral plantar nerve is on the line between the tip of the medial malleolus and the calcaneus, and it’s angle is between 6° and 35°. In MPR images, the display rates of both the medial calcaneal nerve and the subcal caneal nerve were 100%, and the starting point of the subcal caneal nerve was always at the distal end of the starting point of the medial calcaneal nerve. In 55% of cases, there were more than 2 medial calcaneal nerve innervations.Conclusion: The 3D-FIESTA-C MPR can display the morphological features and positions of tibial nerve and its branches and the bifurcation point’s projection position on the body surface can be marked. This method not only benefited the imaging diagnosis of tibial nerve and branch-related lesions of the ankle canal, but also provided a good imaging basis to plan the clinical operation of the ankle canal and avoid surgical injury.

Iatrogenic Lateral Plantar Nerve Injury After Endoscopic Plantar Fascia Release: A Case Report

We present a 57-year-old female patient with iatrogenic lateral plantar nerve injury caused by endoscopic surgery for plantar fasciitis. Nerve grafting surgery was recommended, but the patient refused further surgical intervention because of personal reasons. After 1-year follow-up in outpatient clinics, she achieved only slight improvement in the lateral foot symptoms and still required oral analgesics for pain control. The purpose of this case report is to remind physicians of such a rare and serious complication that can occur after endoscopic surgery for plantar fasciitis. Good knowledge of anatomy and skilled surgical technique could decrease this type of complication.