MR imaging as a problem solving tool in posterior ankle pain: A review.

Posterior ankle pain is a cause of chronic pain and disability, afflicting a wide range of individuals. While proper identification of the cause is essential for timely and adequate treatment, identifying the cause and excluding mimickers is often challenging for the physician due to the complex nature of the joint. In addition, pathology that can cause posterior ankle pain may occur on their own or in co-existence. Clinical conditions that can present as posterior ankle pain include: posterior ankle impingement, Achilles tendon pathology, medial flexor tendon pathology, peroneal pathology, retrocalcaneal bursitis, posterior subtalar tarsal coalition, sinus tarsi, and tarsal tunnel syndrome. In this review we introduce current concepts of pathophysiology in the main conditions involved in posterior ankle pain, and review the role of MR in the diagnosis and management of each condition. When pathology can be detected earlier and with more specificity, appropriate and time-sensitive treatment can be commenced, thus improving clinical outcomes.

Multiple intraneural glomus tumors on a digital nerve: case report.

Glomus tumors are soft-tissue tumors that are commonly found in the hand. Intraneural glomus tumors, however, are rare, and the few reported cases are mostly solitary tumors. We present a woman with a symptomatic swelling on her finger whose imaging findings suggested multiple tumors on the digital nerve, most compatible with a neuroma. Surgical excision and histology, however, confirmed the presence of multiple glomus tumors of the digital nerve. The patient's symptoms resolved after surgery. We describe the biology, typical presentation, and clinico-pathologic features of glomus tumors associated with a peripheral nerve and explore issues that the clinician should consider with multiple tumors.