SINUS-TARSI SYNDROME - RESULTS OF OPERATIVE TREATMENT

Following exclusion of other causes of pain debridement of the sinus tarsi was carried out in 47 hindfeet with persisting pain despite local infiltration with steroids. In 41 patients with a total of 42 feet treated this way, evaluation by a research questionnaire was possible: 15 patients had some persistent problems or had inadequate results after surgery, and in 13 of these a clinical follow-up examination was carried out. Our retrospective study confirms that surgery is successful in treating chronic pain syndromes in the region of the sinus tarsi, as is known from the literature. It is especially successful if the pain is not due to an earlier fracture. In 60% of the hindfeet an instability required a ligamentous reconstruction is found on surgery. This high percentage suggests that the development of the sinus tarsi syndrome may quite often be due to an instability in the hindfoot.