Predictive value of anatomical measurements of the posterior tibial tendon for early detection of posterior tibial tendon dysfunction
Abstract
Aim: To investigate the relationship between tendon thickness and cross-sectional area (CSA) in patients with stage I posterior tibial tendon dysfunction (PTTD) without any damage to the posterior tibial tendon (PTT) and to demonstrate its predictive utility.
Methods: Ankle MRI images of 40 adult patients with stage I PTTD were retrospectively reviewed. On MR images, PTT thickness and CSA were analyzed transversely in the most prominent hypertrophied tendon and compared with the control group. We also evaluated the predictive utility of these anatomical measurements using ROC curve analysis
Results: PTTD was most frequently detected in the right foot and in women. In patients with PTTD, PTT thickness was measured as 3.45±0.77 mm and PTT-CSA as 26.6±6.5 mm2. Tendon thickness values of 3.35 mm (65% sensitivity, 63% specificity) and tendon CSA values of 24.6 mm2 (67% sensitivity, 55% specificity) were determined to be usable predictive values.
Conclusion: Early diagnosis of PTTD is essential for slowing its progression. In Stage I PTTD, evaluating the PTT CSA and thickness may be helpful in diagnosing PTTD, especially before signal changes occur on MRI due to intrasubstance damage in the PTT.
Keywords
posterior tibial tendon dysfunction, posterior tibial tendon, MRI, cross-sectional area, thickness
Supporting Institution
none
Ethical Statement
The ethics committee for our retrospective study was approved by the local ethics committee (approval no. AESH-BADEK1-2025-008).
Thanks
none
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