Abstract
When an adolescent athlete presents with pain in the foot and ankle region, the diagnosis of tarsal coalition should be considered. Tarsal coalition is a congenital anomaly characterised by bony, cartilaginous or fibrous union of the bones in the hindfoot and midfoot. Most such coalitions are talocalcaneal or calcaneonavicular. Pain, peroneal spasm, rigid flatfoot, and a bony prominence inferior to the medial malleolus are typical signs and symptoms of such a coalition. The diagnosis can usually be made by plain X-ray. MRI, CT, and SPECT-CT are additional useful diagnostic modalities. In talocalcaneal coalition, the C sign and talar beaking are frequently visible in a lateral radiograph. Oblique radiographs of the foot are useful for detecting calcaneonavicular coalition. If conservative treatment such as reduced activity and cast immobilization is ineffective, excision of the coalition should be considered.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Harris BJ. Anomalous structures in the developing human foot. Anat Rec. 1955;121(2):399.
Harris RI, Beath T. Etiology of peroneal spastic flat foot. J Bone Joint Surg. 1948;30B(4):624–34.
Kulik Jr SA, Clanton TO. Tarsal coalition. Foot Ankle Int. 1996;17(5):286–96.
Nalaboff KM, Schweitzer ME. MRI of tarsal coalition: frequency, distribution, and innovative signs. Bull NYU Hosp Jt Dis. 2008;66(1):14–21.
Solomon LB, Ruhli FJ, Taylor J, Ferris L, Pope R, Henneberg M. A dissection and computer tomograph study of tarsal coalitions in 100 cadaver feet. J Orthop Res Off Pub Orthop Res Soc. 2003;21(2):352–8.
Snyder RB, Lipscomb AB, Johnston RK. The relationship of tarsal coalitions to ankle sprains in athletes. Am J Sports Med. 1981;9(5):313–7.
Leonard MA. The inheritance of tarsal coalition and its relationship to spastic flat foot. J Bone Joint Surg. 1974;56B(3):520–6.
Khoshbin A, Law PW, Caspi L, Wright JG. Long-term functional outcomes of resected tarsal coalitions. Foot Ankle Int. 2013;34(10):1370–5.
Stormont DM, Peterson HA. The relative incidence of tarsal coalition. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 1983;181:28–36.
Takakura Y, Sugimoto K, Tanaka Y, Tamai S. Symptomatic talocalcaneal coalition. Its clinical significance and treatment. Clini Orthop Relat Res. 1991;269:249–56.
Pearce CJ, Zaw H, Calder JD. Stress fracture of the anterior process of the calcaneus associated with a calcaneonavicular coalition: a case report. Foot Ankle Int. 2011;32(1):85–8.
Nilsson LJ, Coetzee JC. Stress fracture in the presence of a calcaneonavicular coalition: a case report. Foot Ankle Int. 2006;27(5):373–4.
Morgan Jr RC, Crawford AH. Surgical management of tarsal coalition in adolescent athletes. Foot Ankle. 1986;7(3):183–93.
Simmons EH. Tibialis spastic varus foot with tarsal coalition. J Bone Joint Surg. 1965;47:533–6.
Sakellariou A, Sallomi D, Janzen DL, Munk PL, Claridge RJ, Kiri VA. Talocalcaneal coalition. Diagnosis with the C-sign on lateral radiographs of the ankle. J Bone Joint Surg. 2000;82(4):574–8.
Oestreich AE, Mize WA, Crawford AH, Morgan Jr RC. The “anteater nose”: a direct sign of calcaneonavicular coalition on the lateral radiograph. J Pediatr Orthop. 1987;7(6):709–11.
Masciocchi C, D’Archivio C, Barile A, Fascetti E, Zobel BB, Gallucci M, et al. Talocalcaneal coalition: computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging diagnosis. Eur J Radiol. 1992;15(1):22–5.
Wechsler RJ, Schweitzer ME, Deely DM, Horn BD, Pizzutillo PD. Tarsal coalition: depiction and characterization with CT and MR imaging. Radiology. 1994;193(2):447–52.
Scharf S. SPECT/CT imaging in general orthopedic practice. Semin Nucl Med. 2009;39(5):293–307.
Kumar SJ, Guille JT, Lee MS, Couto JC. Osseous and non-osseous coalition of the middle facet of the talocalcaneal joint. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 1992;74(4):529–35.
Rozansky A, Varley E, Moor M, Wenger DR, Mubarak SJ. A radiologic classification of talocalcaneal coalitions based on 3D reconstruction. J Child Orthop. 2010;4(2):129–35. Pubmed Central PMCID: 2832879.
Bohne WH. Tarsal coalition. Curr Opin Pediatr. 2001;13(1):29–35.
Luhmann SJ, Schoenecker PL. Symptomatic talocalcaneal coalition resection: indications and results. J Pediatr Orthop. 1998;18(6):748–54.
Wilde PH, Torode IP, Dickens DR, Cole WG. Resection for symptomatic talocalcaneal coalition. J Bone Joint Surg. 1994;76(5):797–801.
O'Neill DB, Micheli LJ. Tarsal coalition. A followup of adolescent athletes. Am J Sports Med. 1989;17(4):544–9.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Yasui, T. (2016). Coalition and Sports. In: Valderrabano, V., Easley, M. (eds) Foot and Ankle Sports Orthopaedics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15735-1_35
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15735-1_35
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-15734-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-15735-1
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)