Keywords:
Extremities, Musculoskeletal bone, Musculoskeletal soft tissue, MR, Ultrasound, Plain radiographic studies, Education, Education and training
Authors:
S. B. Gagrani1, S. Lee2, R. Bhatt3; 1Birmingham/UK, 2Leicester/UK, 3Leicester /UK
DOI:
10.1594/essr2016/P-0020
Background
Heel/hindfoot pain is a common presenting symptom that can have a significant impact on the quality and activity of daily living.
Upto 1 in 5 people in a given population have been found to have foot pain,
which increases with age,
female sex and obesity.
There are multitude of pathologies of the hindfoot that can cause pain.
It is often difficult to obtain a firm diagnosis on clinical examination alone,
with imaging becoming increasingly relevant and integral part of the diagnostic process.
Multimodality imaging is used for different purposes such as:
- Plain radiograph for osseous lesions.
- Ultrasound for preliminary evaluation of the soft tissue such as fascia,
muscles,
tendons,
ligaments and bursa.
- CT has great value in evaluation of congenital and acquired osseous lesions,
tarsal coalition and trauma.
- MRI has superior soft tissue contrast resolution and therefore remains the workhorse of the heel/hindfoot investigation.
We discuss the multitude of pathologies that can occur in the heel/hindfoot region and their imaging characteristics to aid in the diagnosis.