Tendons of the medial and lateral compartment of the ankle

The ankle is a complex mechanism. It is made up of two joints: the subtalar joint and the true ankle joint.

The ankle joint allows up-and-down movement of the foot. The subtalar joint sits below the ankle joint and allows side-to-side motion of the foot. Numerous ligaments (made of tough, moveable tissue) surround the true ankle and subtalar joints, binding the bones of the leg to each other and to those of the foot.

Tendons traverse the anterior, posterior, and lateral aspects of the ankle. This involves the tibialis anterior, tibialis posterior, and a pair of peroneal tendons (peroneus longus and brevis). Because of their critical roles during gait, each of these tendons is prone to overuse and inflammation.

Lateral ankle pain can be caused by ankle sprains, nerve inflammation, fracture of the anterior process of the calcaneus, or fracture of the base of the fifth metatarsal. Whereas, an accessory navicular, spring ligament injury, or medial malleolar stress fracture may all cause medial ankle pain near the posterior tibialis.

A study has shown that Ankle disorders are a relatively common pathological condition, and ankle injuries account for approximately 14% of sports-related orthopaedic emergency visits.

While various imaging modalities can be used to diagnose ankle pain, ultrasound (US) has several advantages for evaluating ankle pain, particularly in the tendons, ligaments, and nerves of the ankle.

Indeed, using a high-frequency 7.5 to 10 MHz linear transducer is suitable for the assessment of tendons of the medial and lateral compartment of the ankle. For this reason, our orthopedist clients tend to use the Linear Wireless Ultrasound Scanner SIFULTRAS-5.34. 

The SIFULTRAS-5.34 is a compact handheld scanner with advanced features. This improves the physical examination and gives the physician great help during the evaluation. Moreover, it has the color Doppler mode which helps to distinguish small intra-substance tears from blood vessels that can occur in a tendinopathic tendon.

To sum up, Ultrasound Scanner is highly effective during the Tendons’ assessment and during the follow-up stage. In which it improves the understanding and study of traumatic distortion of capsule-ligament structures of the ankle, as well as for degenerative, inflammatory, and traumatic lesions of the ankle tendons.

References: The ankle , Tendon Disorders of the Foot and Ankle, Ultrasonography of the ankle joint,Medial ankle ligament,