Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome

Remember the opening montage of ABC’s Wild World of Sports; that famous show began with Jim McKay’s stirring narration, ‘Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sport… the thrill of victory… and the agony of defeat… the human drama of athletic competition… this is ABC's Wide World of Sports.’ The famous opening sequence always prompted me to consider how ‘the agony of defeat’ was an equally respectable result of competition, and how losing could be made just as entertaining as winning. After watching that ski jumper’s (Vinko Bogataj) breathtaking disaster and that Indy car’s fiery somersault, I think I became a little more conscious of what it is to be a good loser.

Unfortunately the dream of being a professional athlete is, in many cases, all about the road to failure. I have met many would be heroes who, for one reason or another, washed out somewhere along the way. Hockey players with bad knees, tennis players with faulty elbows, and boxers with glass jaws are common at cocktail parties and high school reunions. The refrain ‘I could have been a contender’ is usually followed by the subject pointing at some impaired region of his or her body.

Yesterday I heard a new excuse - tarsal tunnel syndrome. This malady is similar to carpal tunnel syndrome but tarsal tunnel occurs in the foot while carpal tunnel occurs in the hands and wrist. Tarsal tunnel syndrome is a condition where the posterior tibial nerve in the foot is trapped. The author of this particular apology was a professional lacrosse player from Kenora, Ontario. Apparently the violent exercise involves lots of running and jumping, and the pressure exerted on feet is extreme.

Indeed this young man described the condition as ‘intensely painful’, and he related in some detail the discomfort he experienced as he massaged his heal and wriggled his toes. The physician diagnosed him with Tarsel Tunnel Syndrom after she applied ‘Tinel's Test’ - she tapped the nerve just behind the medial malleolus and man screamed like a school girl. Needless to say his lacrosse career was over.

After the attentive physician applied ice, anti-inflammatories and cortisone injections, she recommended her patient seek therapeutic footwear. I couldn’t help but notice that my new friend was shod in a well worn pair of yellow Holey Soles.  Although these are not orthopedic shoes in the strictest sense, they are extremely comfortable and contain many remedial features for problem feet. The most obvious of which is the ‘tarsal bar’ foam molding that massages the bottom of the foot. This design element serves to spread the toes slightly and increase blood circulation to the region. He won’t be playing lacrosse anytime soon, but those yellow shoes looked just smashing with his faded blue denim jeans.