PARTIAL RUPTURE OF THE FLEXOR HALLUCIS LONGUS TENDON IN A TENNIS PLAYER - A CASE-REPORT

A 39-year-old woman sustained a forced dorsiflexion injury to the left great toe while pivoting to the right during tennis activity, Postero medial ankle pain was reproduced with active plantarflexion and passiv e dorsiflexion of the great toe and, to a smaller extent, the lesser t oes. Symptoms persisted for 9 months despite nonoperative treatment. M agnetic resonance imaging 5 months after injury revealed evidence of f luid surrounding the flexor hallucis longus (FHL) tendon. Operative fi ndings 9 months after injury included scar tissue and tenosynovitis of the FHL and flexor digitorum longus tendon sheaths, with impingement of distal FHL muscle fibers and a longitudinal split tear (partial rup ture) of the FHL tendon, Tenolysis, tenosynovectomy, excision of the d istal muscle fibers, and repair of the partial tendon rupture were per formed, resulting in resolution of symptoms. Partial rupture of the FH L tendon as a single-impact injury, or in activity other than ballet, has not been documented previously.