A 45-year-old man is brought to the emergency room complaining of intense pain in his left calf and ankle. The patient gave a history of playing tennis where had lunged forward, heard a "snap," fell to the cou in tremendous pain, and could not walk. On examination, the left calf was tender and indurated, with an irregular mass noted in the back of the mid-calf area with the following finding. What type of excessive abnormal ankle movement would be present?
The gastrocnemius and soleus muscles form a three-headed muscle group (triceps surae) that unite to form a single tendon, the calcaneal or Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon inses into the calcaneus bone. These muscles produce plantar flexion of the foot at the ankle and limit dorsiflexion. Running or quick-sta athletic activity, such as described in this case, may lead to strain or rupture of the tendon. The snap heard by this patient is fairly common in calcaneal tendon avulsion. The mass noted in the left calf is due to foreshoening of the triceps surae (As seen in the above image) Compared with the opposite side, the affected foot will have greater range of motion in dorsiflexion and loss of plantar flexion. Treatment is usually surgical repair of the tendon.
Plantar flexion
Dorsiflexion
Inversion
eversion
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