Sinus Tarsi Syndrome: Diagnosed on 99m-Tc MDP Bone SPECT/CT

Abstract

Sinus Tarsi Syndrome is a cause of chronic ankle instability and pain. MRI of the ankle has been the modality of choice for diagnosing the condition. However, SPECT-CT offers an alternate modality for diagnosing and evaluation of the condition. We present the case of a footballer who was suffering from chronic right leg pain despite receiving physiotherapy. He was being managed as a case of a chronic ankle sprain. Meanwhile, he was referred to the department as radiology for MRI of the ankle could not be performed as the patient felt claustrophobic. The patient subsequently underwent a 99mTc-MDP Bone scan. He was diagnosed to be suffering from sinus tarsi syndrome as it showed a characteristic pattern noted on 99mTc-MDP Bone scintigraphy. This case report reveals the potential of SPECT-CT as an alternative in the evaluation of chronic ankle sprain to MRI in segment of cases where MRI is not performed due to various reasons.

Keywords

• sinus tarsi syndrome
• ankle sprain
• 99mtc-mdp
• spect-ct
• bone scan