Tarsal tunnel syndrome is associated with a compression of posterior tibial nerve or its branches at the medial malleolus level, causing pain in the hindfoot that radiates into the inside foot arch and, sometimes, into the digits. Patients experience feelings of numbness, burning or tingling that hamper walking.

Posterior tibial neuralgia stems from a multitude of factors, like overpronation, post-traumatic ankle alterations, rheumatic diseases, or any pathology that may produce inflammation of the tibial nerve or reduction of space within the tunnel.

We treat the syndrome conservatively first. Then, if symptoms have not improved, minimal incision surgery is engaged to decompress the nerve.

Minimal incision technique advantages:

• ambulatory intervention, after which patients may walk home  
• local anesthesia
• a 3-mm incision that makes recuperation fast and painless
• no internal fixation devices
• little risk of infection and rapid tissue healing
• excellent short-term and long-term results