Authors’ Disclosure Statement: The authors report no actual or potential conflict of interest in relation to this article.
Dr. Feria-Arias and Dr. Boukhemis are foot & ankle orthopaedic surgery fellows at UC Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, CA. Dr. Kreulen is Assistant Professor of Orthopaedics, Foot and Ankle Service, at University of California Davis, Sacramento, CA. Dr. Giza is Professor and Chief of the Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Service, at University of California Davis, Sacramento, CA; Sacramento Republic FC Head Team Physician; and Major League Soccer Medical Research Chair.
Address correspondence to: Eric Giza, MD, University of California, Davis, Department of Orthopaedics, 3301 C Street, Suite 1700, Sacramento, CA 95816 (tel, 916-734-6805; email, ericgiza@gmail.com).
Am J Orthop. 2018;47(10). Copyright Frontline Medical Communications Inc. 2018. All rights reserved.
Enrique Feria-Arias, MD Karim Boukhemis, MD Christopher Kreulen, MD, MS Eric Giza, MD . Foot and Ankle Injuries in Soccer. Am J Orthop. October 19, 2018
References
These injuries are typically identified with pain over the AITFL and interosseous membrane. Physical examination tests that help identify syndesmotic injuries include the squeeze test, external rotation test, and crossed-leg test.41 The diagnosis can be made on plain X-ray when there is clear diastasis between the distal tibia and fibula. Two critical measurements on plain films are made 1 cm above the tibial plafond and are used to evaluate the integrity of the syndesmosis: tibiofibular clear space >6 mm, and tibiofibular overlap <1 mm, which indicate disruption of the syndesmosis.43 More subtle injuries can be diagnosed with better sensitivity and specificity using MRI, which can also reveal secondary findings such as bone bruises, ATFL injury, osteochondral lesions, and tibiofibular incongruity.44,45 Arthroscopy is an invaluable diagnostic tool for syndesmotic injuries with a characteristic triad finding of PITFL scarring, disrupted interosseous ligament, and posterolateral tibial plafond chondral damage.46
Classification of the ligaments involved can aid in the selection of appropriate treatment. Grade I injuries involve AITFL tears. Grade IIa injuries involve AITFL and IOL tears. Grade IIb injuries include AITFL, PITFL, and IOL tears. Grade III injuries involve injury to all 3 ligaments, as well as a fibular fracture. Conservative treatment is recommended for Grades I and IIa, while surgical intervention is necessary for Grades IIb and III (Figures 4A, 4B). Compared with other ankle sprains, syndesmotic injuries typically require a more prolonged recovery/rehabilitation. Some studies suggest that these injuries require twice as long to heal.47 Hopkinson and colleagues48 reported a mean recovery time of 55 days following syndesmotic injuries in cadets at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Some surgeons advocate surgical intervention in professional athletes with mild sprains to expedite return to play.49
Surgery has been well established as necessary in more severe injuries where there is clear diastasis or instability of the syndesmosis. Traditionally, screws were used for surgical fixation; however, they often required a second surgery for subsequent removal. There is no general consensus on the optimal screw size, level of placement, or timing of removal.50,51 More recently, non-absorbable suture button fixation (eg, TightRope; Arthrex) has become more popular and provides certain advantages over screw fixation, such as avoiding the need for hardware removal. TightRope has been shown to provide more accurate stabilization of the syndesmosis as compared with screw fixation.52 Since malreduction is the most important indicator of poor long-term functional outcome, suture button fixation should be considered in the treatment of the football player.53 Finally, Colcuc and colleagues54 reported a lower complication rate and earlier return to sports in patients treated with knotless suture button devices compared with screw fixation.
OSTEOCHONDRAL LESIONS
Osteochondral lesions (OCLs) are cartilage-bone defects that are usually located in the talus. They can be caused by an acute traumatic event or repetitive microtrauma with no apparent history of trauma (eg, ankle instability). Acute OCLs can occur in soccer secondary to an ankle sprain or ankle fracture. Symptoms of OCLs include pain, swelling, and mechanical symptoms such as catching or locking, and on physical examination, one might see an effusion. The initial imaging modality of choice is radiographing; however, in ankle sprains with continued pain and swelling MRI may be indicated to rule out an underlying OCL. Missed acute lesions have a tendency not to heal and become chronic lesions, which can cause pain and playing disability. It is well established that chronic ankle instability is an important etiologic factor for OCLs. With the normal hydrostatic pressure within the ankle joint, synovial fluid gets pushed into cartilage/bone fissures, which can then lead to cystic degeneration of the subchondral bone.55-57
Surgical repair of an OCL is dependent on both the size and location of the lesion. Acute lesions can be managed by arthroscopic débridement, microfracture, or fixation of the lesion if enough bone remains attached to the chondral lesion. Return to play is based on development and maturation of fibrocartilage over the lesion (debridement/microfracture) or healing and incorporation of the new graft (chondral repair procedures). Meanwhile, chronic lesions can be managed in 1-stage (microfracture, osteochondral autograft transfer or 2-stage (autologous chondrocyte implantation [ACI]) procedures.56-57 Additional biologic healing augmentation with platelet-rich plasma has been described as well.58 Newer techniques in treating chronic talus OCLs, including ones that have failed to respond to bone marrow stimulation techniques, have been developed more recently such as the use of particulated juvenile articular cartilage allograft (DeNovo NT Natural Tissue Graft®; Zimmer Biomet).59 These newer techniques avoid the need for a 2-stage procedure, as is the case with ACI.
