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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Indian J Radiol Imaging 2010; 20(04): 269-273
DOI: 10.4103/0971-3026.73542
Musculoskeletal

Pictorial essay: Ultrasonography in ′tennis leg′

Jeshil R Shah
Saboo Siddique Hospital, Near J. J. Hospital & Acuscan Medical Centre, Juhu, Mumbai, India
,
Bipin R Shah
Eclate Polyclinic, Ville Parle, Mumbai and Life Scan Imaging Center, Malad, Mumbai, India
,
Ankit S Shah
Life Scan Imaging Center, Malad, Mumbai, India
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Abstract

Tennis leg is caused by a rupture of the medial head of the gastrocnemius muscle, usually at its distal musculotendinous junction region. However, tears in this muscle and its tendon are also included under the term ′tennis leg′. It is seen regularly in practice and is an important cause of a painful calf. The common USG findings include: disruption of the pinnate pattern of the distal medial gastrocnemius, usually near the junction of the triceps surae (which is the echogenic line between the gastrocnemius, the soleus, and the plantaris muscles), fluid tracking along the fascia, adjacent hematoma, and intramuscular tears as well as hematomas. USG is useful for confirming the diagnosis, excluding other causes of a painful calf, for assessing the severity of the disease, and in follow-up.

Keywords

Avulsion - gastrocnemius - magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) - sonography - tear - Tennis leg


Publication History

Article published online:
02 August 2021

© 2010. Indian Radiological Association. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

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