Contents:
- Medical Video: Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome Stretches & Exercises - Ask Doctor Jo
- What is a sinus tarsi injury?
- Signs and symptoms of sinus tarsi syndrome
- What can be done to treat an ankle injury?
Medical Video: Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome Stretches & Exercises - Ask Doctor Jo
As the lower body part, the legs are composed of various types of bones and strong joints to hold pressure from your body continuously. That is why if you experience an injury to the foot, especially in the ankle area, you can be difficult to walk even to stand up. One of the most common types of ankle injuries is caused by sinus tarsi injuries.
What is a sinus tarsi injury?
Sinus tarsi injury aka sinus tarsi syndrome is an injury or trauma that occurs on the outside of the ankle. The tarsi sinus itself is a cavity around the ankle that is formed from several joints to connect parts of the talus and calcaneus. Sinus tarsi syndrome can also occur when there is a wound or tear in one or more ligaments in the sinus tarsi.
What are the causes of sinus tarsi ankle injuries?
The main cause of sinus tarsi syndrome is an ankle injury or trauma involving one or more ligaments in the sinus tarsi. For example, sprains, sprains, or falls while exercising or doing activities.
Ligaments that are torn due to sprains that are severe enough can cause inflammation and rupture of the synovial fluid sac from the joints which acts as a lubricant for joints and tendons.
Causes other than trauma such as the shape of the foot that is too flat or the wrong way to walk can also cause repeated pressure. The bones of the talus and the calcaneus in the legs that are too simultaneously pressed can cause damage and inflammation in the joints in the sinus area.
Signs and symptoms of sinus tarsi syndrome
If an injury affects the sinus tarsi area, the main symptoms are pain, discomfort, and / or imbalance when standing. Pain that is a sign of sinus tarsi usually occurs shortly after an injury or after the foot holds the load for too long.
The ankle injury typical of sinus syndrome is characterized by pain arising on the outside of the ankle, whether it is moving or only when lifting the leg. As a result, a person can feel unstable when accumulating weight on the hind legs.
Sinus tarsi damage occurs slowly and the pain can increase seriously when damaged leg joints cause a person unable to walk normally or take steps that are too wide. Inappropriate movements will again add to the area of damage to the joints that have been injured.
Pain similar to sinus tarsi syndrome can also be caused by sprained feet, arthritis, tendonitis and fractures around the legs. But strong pain centered around the ankle area causing an imbalance when walking or standing is the main sign of sinus tarsi syndrome.
What can be done to treat an ankle injury?
The diagnosis of sinus tarsi syndrome is accompanied by other examinations to rule out other leg disorders. Like doing a CT scan to get rid of the possibility of fractures, and MRI to check the condition of the ligaments / tissue around the sinus tarsi which allows inflammation.
Sinus tarsi injuries can interfere with your daily activities, but first handling this injury is usually quite easy because it involves:
- Protect the foot area the sprain to prevent further injury using a buffer. Or in the case of a sprained or sprained ankle, use shoes that can elevate and support your feet.
- Multiply rest the injured leg. Do not place heavy loads on the sprained area for 48 hours, avoid standing too long, walking too fast or other activities that can put too much pressure on the ankles.
- Use comfortable footwear to absorb the pressure or vibration of the impact around the heel. Pain can be reduced when vibration is reduced by using thick and stiff footwear and a shoe contour with a curved base to reduce pressure.
- Take pain relievers likeibuprofen or paracetamol to relieve pain and inflammation.
- Injection corticosteroids to relieve pain in the area of the cedea, but only carried out under the supervision of a doctor
If the above treatment fails, then the next step is surgery to reconstruct the bone structure in the leg. However, surgery may only be needed when the leg bone structure is not appropriate.
