Painful os intermetatarseum in athletes: report of four cases and review of the literature.

INTRODUCTION: A painful os intermetatarseum, which described the compression of the deep peroneal nerve by an os intermetatarseum, is a very rare condition. The authors reported four cases of painful os intermetatarseum in athletes and reviewed the present literature. CASE PRESENTATION: We present four cases of a painful os intermetatarseum in athletes, who complained of pain over the dorsum of their foot associated with paresthesias in the first web space. Surgical excision of the os intermetatarseum relieved the pain in all patients. All patients returned to previous sporting activities. CONCLUSION: We should consider a painful os intermetatarseum as being the cause of dorsal foot pain in athletes, and surgical excision of the os intermetatarseum is effective for these patients.