Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2017 Jul 31:11:670-677.
doi: 10.2174/1874325001711010670. eCollection 2017.

Distal Tibiofibular Syndesmosis: Anatomy, Biomechanics, Injury and Management

Affiliations
Review

Distal Tibiofibular Syndesmosis: Anatomy, Biomechanics, Injury and Management

Chi Pan Yuen et al. Open Orthop J. .

Abstract

A stable and precise articulation of the distal tibiofibular syndesmosis is essential for normal motion of the ankle joint. Injury to the syndesmosis occurs through rupture or bony avulsion of the syndesmotic ligament complex. External rotation of the talus has been identified as the major mechanism of syndesmotic injury. None of the syndesmotic stress tests was sensitive or specific; therefore the diagnosis of syndesmotic injury should not be made based on the medical history and physical examination alone. With the improvement in ankle arthroscopic technique, it can be used as a diagnostic and therapeutic tool in the management of distal tibiofibular syndesmosis injury.

Keywords: Anatomy; Ankle arthroscopy; Ankle joint; Biomechanics; Distal tibiofibular syndesmosis; Function; Injury; Ligament complex.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Kelikian H.K.S. Disorders of the Ankle. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Company; 1985.
    1. Hermans J.J., Beumer A., de Jong T.A., Kleinrensink G.J. Anatomy of the distal tibiofibular syndesmosis in adults: A pictorial essay with a multimodality approach. J. Anat. 2010;217(6):633–645. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7580.2010.01302.x. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bartonícek J. Anatomy of the tibiofibular syndesmosis and its clinical relevance. Surg. Radiol. Anat. 2003;25(5-6):379–386. doi: 10.1007/s00276-003-0156-4. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ebraheim N.A., Taser F., Shafiq Q., Yeasting R.A. Anatomical evaluation and clinical importance of the tibiofibular syndesmosis ligaments. Surg. Radiol. Anat. 2006;28(2):142–149. doi: 10.1007/s00276-006-0077-0. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Kim S., Huh Y.M., Song H.T., Lee S.A., Lee J.W., Lee J.E., Chung I.H., Suh J.S. Chronic tibiofibular syndesmosis injury of ankle: Evaluation with contrast-enhanced fat-suppressed 3D fast spoiled gradient-recalled acquisition in the steady state MR imaging. Radiology. 2007;242(1):225–235. doi: 10.1148/radiol.2421051369. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources