Mimickers of lumbar radiculopathy.

Orthopaedic surgeons frequently treat patients who report pain that radiates from the back into the lower extremity. Although the most common etiology is either a herniated disk or spinal stenosis, a myriad of pathologies can mimic the symptoms of radiculopathy, resulting in differences in the clinical presentation and the workup. Therefore, the clinician must be able to distinguish the signs and symptoms of lumbar radiculopathy from pathologies that may have a similar presentation.

Computed tomography of normal distal tibiofibular syndesmosis.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the shape and measurements of the normal distal tibiofibular syndesmosis on computed tomographic scans and to identify features that could aid in the diagnosis of syndesmotic diastasis using computed tomography (CT).

Materials And Methods: CT scans of 100 patients with normal distal tibiofibular syndesmoses were reviewed retrospectively. In 67% the incisura fibularis was deep, giving the syndesmosis a crescent shape.