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Tarsal coalitions. Activity levels with and without surgery
1Department of Sports Medicine, Palo Alto Medical Foundation, Palo Alto, CA 94301, USA.
Journal of the American Podiatric Medical Association
|July 19, 2003
Summary
Tarsal coalition surgery allows patients to return to activity, with excision not correlated with failure to reach desired levels. Patients forgoing surgery often quit sports, indicating surgery has a favorable outcome for activity restoration.
Area of Science:
- Orthopedic Surgery
- Sports Medicine
- Podiatry
Background:
- Tarsal coalitions are a common cause of pediatric flatfoot, often leading to activity limitations.
- Surgical intervention is frequently considered for symptomatic tarsal coalitions to restore function.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare activity levels in patients with tarsal coalitions who underwent surgery versus those who did not.
- To quantify the return-to-activity time following surgical excision of tarsal coalitions.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective review of 31 patients with 39 tarsal coalitions (talocalcaneal, talonavicular, calcaneonavicular).
- Comparison of activity levels and return-to-activity times between surgical and non-surgical groups.
- Fisher exact test used to assess the correlation between surgery and achieving desired activity levels.
Main Results:
- Fifteen patients (17 feet) undergoing resection had a mean return-to-activity time of 10.3 weeks.
- No significant difference in return-to-activity time between talocalcaneal and calcaneonavicular coalitions.
- Thirteen patients (21 feet) quit sports, with 11 from the non-surgical group; only 3 non-surgical patients continued sports.
Conclusions:
- Tarsal coalition excision is not correlated with failure to reach desired activity levels.
- Patients forgoing surgery demonstrated a decreased ability to achieve desired activity levels.
- Surgical excision of tarsal coalitions offers a favorable outcome for restoring patient activity.