Objective: The aim of this study was to describe cuboid pulley lesions and associated abnormalities on the basis of clinical findings and the results of MRI examinations of the ankle.
Materials and methods: A retrospective search was performed to identify patients who had a cuboid pulley lesion during a 10-year period. A cuboid pulley lesion was defined as bone marrow edema in the lateroplantar ridge of the cuboid that was shown to be wrapped by the peroneus longus tendon on MRI of the ankle. A total of 19 patients (11 men and eight women; mean age, 45.4 years) were included in the group of patients with a cuboid pulley lesion, and 38 age-and sex-matched patients without a cuboid pulley lesion were randomly selected as the control group. We reviewed medical records and assessed MRI findings that could be associated with a cuboid pulley lesion.
Results: The mean (± SD) diameter of the cuboid pulley lesion was 8.9 ± 4.7 mm. Cuboid pulley lesions were associated with peroneal tenosynovitis (p < 0.001), Achilles enthesitis (p = 0.004), and a clinical diagnosis of inflammatory arthritis (p < 0.001). Eleven of the 19 patients in the group with cuboid pulley lesions had inflammatory arthritis (either rheumatoid arthritis [n = 7] or spondyloarthritis [n = 4]). The cuboid pulley lesions did not cause localized lateral foot pain and tenderness, except in one patient who had an accompanying stress fracture of the cuboid.
Conclusion: MRI of the ankle rarely but clearly shows cuboid pulley lesions, which themselves are not likely to cause localized pain, and cuboid pulley lesions show significant associations with peroneal tenosynovitis, Achilles enthesitis, and clinically diagnosed inflammatory arthritis.
Keywords: MRI; bony pulley; cuboid; enthesitis; peroneus longus.