Peroneal Tendon Tears: We Should Consider Looking at the Muscle Instead

Area of Science:

• Orthopedics
• Radiology
• Sports Medicine

Background:

• Peroneus brevis (PB) tendon tears are common injuries.
• Fatty infiltration of the PB muscle on MRI may indicate tendon pathology.
• The relationship between PB tears and muscle fatty degeneration requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the correlation between peroneus brevis (PB) tendon tears and increased fatty infiltration of the PB muscle.
• To compare MRI findings in patients with and without peroneal pathology.
• To evaluate the utility of the Goutallier classification in assessing PB tear severity.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective comparison of ankle MRI scans from 30 patients with PB tendon tears (tear group) and 30 controls without peroneal pathology.
• Two independent reviewers graded PB muscle belly fatty infiltration using the Goutallier classification.
• Statistical analysis to compare Goutallier scores between groups and assess interobserver agreement.

Main Results:

• Patients with PB tendon tears exhibited significantly higher mean Goutallier scores (0.52) compared to controls (0.05) (P = 0.0019).
• Moderate interobserver agreement was achieved for the Goutallier classification (ICC = 0.75).

Conclusions:

• Peroneus brevis tendon tears are associated with significantly increased fatty degeneration of the PB muscle.
• The Goutallier classification is a potentially valuable tool for quantifying the severity of PB tendon tears and associated muscle changes.