Acute weakness of the ankle extensors - An orthopedically or a neurological problem?

The case report shows an initial misdiagnosis of a subcutaneous rupture of the tibialis anterior tendon as a peroneal nerve palsy. A closed rupture of this tendon is rare. The symptoms are often neglected and mostly the ruptu re occurs as a consequence of a sudden plantar flexion of the ankle and pre -existing degenerative changes of the tendon tissue in elderly people. The further course, the sonographic examination and the magnetic resonance imag ing made the right diagnosis possible. The rare disease has been reported i n the literature until 1998 for 33 respectively less than 50 times. Importa nt for the patients is the possibility of a surgical procedure as a causal intervention.