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. 2024 Jul 4:54:102489.
doi: 10.1016/j.jcot.2024.102489. eCollection 2024 Jul.

The management of tarsal tunnel syndrome: A scoping review

Ibrahim Inzarul Haq  1 , Anjuli A Banerjee  2 , Zaki Arshad  3 , Adil M Iqbal  4 , Maneesh Bhatia  3
Affiliations

The management of tarsal tunnel syndrome: A scoping review

Ibrahim Inzarul Haq et al. J Clin Orthop Trauma. .

Erratum in

Abstract

Background: Tarsal tunnel syndrome, also known as posterior tibial neuralgia, is a compressive neuropathy of the posterior tibial nerve or one of its divisions (calcaneal, lateral plantar or medial plantar nerve) within the tarsal tunnel. This scoping review aims to systematically map and summarise current literature regarding the management of tarsal tunnel syndrome.

Methods: PubMed, Embase, Emcare, Medline and Cinahl were searched using the terms 'tarsal tunnel', 'syndrome', 'entrapment', 'compression', 'posterior tibial', 'neuropathy' and 'neuralgia. Two stage title abstract screening was performed. Observational studies reporting the outcome of treatment of tarsal tunnel syndrome were included.

Results: A total of 32 studies were included in the review. Excellent or good results are seen in 75.3 % of cases, with the remainder (24.7 %) achieving fair or poor outcomes. Factors which may influence outcome include patient age, symptom duration, aetiology, co-morbidities, pre-treatment symptom severity and nerve fibrosis.

Conclusions: Although favourable outcomes are seen in the majority of cases, poor results are not uncommon. A range of prognostic factors are identified; however, firm conclusions cannot be drawn from the findings of individual low-quality studies. Further research in identifying prognostic factors may aid in clinical decision making and management of patient expectations.

Level of evidence: Level IV Scoping review.

Keywords: Neuralgia; Posterior tibial nerve: foot; Review; Tarsal tunnel syndrome.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations of Interest: The senior author, Mr Maneesh Bhatia is a member of the scientific committee of the European Foot and Ankle Society and the educational committee of the British Foot and Ankle Society.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
PRISMA flow diagram detailing the number of studies retrieved and removed at each screening stage.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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