Sinus tarsi syndrome is a problem that causes pain on the outside of the ankle joint with tenderness felt just in front of the outside ankle bone (lateral malleolus). Traditionally, this is due to two reasons. One reason is that ligaments between the talus and calcaneus (two bone below the ankle joint) are strained as part of an ankle sprain. This is often best treated by a physical therapist and manipulation and sometimes an injection. The other cause of sinus tarsi syndrome is a pronated foot. This is when the foot rolls inwards below the ankle joint at the subtalar joint (the joint below the ankle joint). When this joint gets to its end range of motion, there is bone on bone contact that stops the pronating foot. If the forces pronating the foot are great, then this compression may become painful. The treatment of this in barefoot running is going to be problematic as the compressive forces have to be relived and the traditional way of doing that is with foot orthotics. Long term, muscle strengthening may do away with the need for orthotics if indeed it was a muscle weakness that led to the foot pronating in the first place.
For more, see these: Recurrent Ankle Sprain | Sinus Tarsi Syndrome | Sinus Tarsi Syndrome | Sinus Tarsi Syndrome
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