Published online Jan 26, 2020. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v8.i2.444
Peer-review started: November 5, 2019
First decision: December 4, 2019
Revised: December 10, 2019
Accepted: January 2, 2020
Article in press: January 2, 2020
Published online: January 26, 2020
Processing time: 72 Days and 13.5 Hours
In clinical practice, checkrein deformity is usually found in patients with calf injuries after ankle fracture or distal tibial fracture. The patients with checkrein deformity mainly report distending pain in toe tips, pain when walking or wearing shoes, and gait instability. Previous studies have mainly reported surgical treatments for checkrein deformity, while few studies have reported using comprehensive rehabilitation alone to improve the checkrein deformity.
A 28-year-old woman was admitted to the hospital due to unstable gait caused by pain in the right hallux, for which she was unable to stretch for over three months. The patient had undergone “resection of ameloblastoma at the right mandible, mandibulectomy, and autogenous right fibula grafting”. The patient’s hallux toe, as well as the second and third toes of the right foot could not be stretched, with pain in all the toes during walking. Based on the medical records of the patient, as well as the results of physical and auxiliary examinations, the main diagnosis was checkrein deformity in the right foot. Since the patient refused surgical treatment, rehabilitation was the only treatment option. At discharge, the patient reported evident improvement in the pain in the toes, gait stability, as well as increased ability to climb up and downstairs.
Comprehensive rehabilitation therapy could effectively alleviate the manifestations of checkrein deformity and improve the walking ability of the patients.
Core tip: We report a rare case of checkrein deformity following fibula osteotomy. The checkrein deformity in this patient could be induced by the injuries to the muscle belly of the flexor halluces longus, and formation of hematoma. For therapy, we used comprehensive rehabilitation treatment such as thermal therapy, medium-high frequency electrotherapy, shock wave therapy, massage, etc. After 20 d of treatment, the pain and gait of the patient had improved. In addition, no relapse of the toe pain was reported during the follow-up after discharge. The daily walking of the patient was not affected. This case indicates that comprehensive rehabilitation can be effectively used in the conservative and postoperative treatment of checkrein deformity.