What Others Are Saying:
"Modeling with broken bones was painful,
until I met Dr. Jenson
I had to have surgery on my right foot due to multiple broken bones and was initially scared of the procedure. But after meeting Dr. Jenson, all my worries were gone. Not only did he do an incredible job in my surgery, he had me up and running in no time. My work requires me to be standing for long periods of time and involves a lot of traveling. Without Dr. Jenson and his wonderful staff, I wouldn’t have been able to feel as great as I do in this short time."
- Taylor Hannah
Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome
A painful foot condition in which the Posterior Tibial Nerve at the inner ankle is compressed and entrapped as it travels through the tarsal tunnel area. Commonly, it occurs in a flat foot or a foot in which the arch flattens excessively while walking. Over time, this causes the nerve to stretch or become compressed in the area of the tarsal tunnel. In the tunnel, the nerve splits into three different paths.
- Calcaneal nerve continues to the heel
- Medial plantar nerve continues to the inner bottom side of the foot
- A lateral plantar nerve continues to the outer bottom side of the foot.
Long term compression of nerves may cause a loss of feeling and pain in the foot and toes. This in turn makes the patients highly susceptible to ulcerations, infections, and other issues. Also, in diabetics, 1 out of 6 patients may experience amputations of the foot.
Symptoms
- Tingling and numbness in the toes, ball of foot, arch of foot, and heel
- Can have a feeling of "pins and needles” being poked
- Pain along the Posterior Tibial nerve path commonly present when pressed
- Painful burning sensations in the lower legs
- Burning sensation on the bottom of foot that radiates upward
- Cramping or curling of your toes
- Electric shock sensations
- Pain radiating up into the leg, and down into the arch, heel, and toes
- Weakness in the heal, arch and ball of the foot
- Hot and cold sensations in the feet
- Worsen during the day, with work, and may keep you up at night
Common Causes
- Flat Feet : can cause increase pressure in the tarsal tunnel region
- Diabetes: diabetic neuropathy in the tarsal tunnel region
- Trauma to the area
- Anything that puts pressure on tarsal tunnel area
- Bone spurs, tumors and cysts, inflammation
- Varicose Vein
- Lower Back problems
- individuals with pinch nerves in lower back may also have nerve entrapment in tarsal tunnel area
Treatment
- Anti-inflammatory Medications
- Injections
- Orthotics
- Nerve Decompression Surgery
- outpatient procedure in which the compressed nerves are release by opening narrowing tunnels that surround them and sometimes embedding the nerves into muscle
In order to give accurate diagnosis, Dr. David Jenson uses a state-of-the art neurosensory test which was developed in the world-renowned Johns Hopkins University. This test is PAINLESS for the patient and exams each nerve group of each foot. The results give Dr. Jenson vital information in regards to nerve functioning, which helps in determining the best treatment option to alleviate the condition. If surgery is elected, usually the end-results are permanent!
