Background: Stress fracture of the lateral tubercle of the posterior talar process in runners is extremely rare. Here, we describe a case of a female long-distance runner who sustained a stress fracture of the lateral tubercle of the posterior talar process. Osteosynthesis with screw fixation via two-portal hindfoot endoscopy achieved a good surgical outcome with a less invasive procedure.
Case presentation: An 18-year-old female long-distance runner who belonged to her university's road running club presented to our institution with a half-year history of persistent left hindfoot pain when running. Radiographs revealed a stress fracture of the lateral tubercle of the posterior talar process. Because the fracture showed no signs of healing 3 months after starting conservative therapy, osteosynthesis with screw fixation was performed via two-portal hindfoot endoscopy. Non-contrast computed tomography at 10 weeks postoperatively revealed consolidation of the stress fracture. At 15 weeks postoperatively, the patient was permitted to jog and return to athletic activity while wearing an orthosis. As of this writing 2 years postoperatively, she remains an active competitive runner.
Conclusions: Osteosynthesis with screw fixation via two-portal hindfoot endoscopy was a less invasive procedure that successfully treated stress fracture of the lateral tubercle of the posterior talar process in this female long-distance runner.
Keywords: Athlete; Minimal invasive surgery; Stress fracture; Talus.