Causes and Outcomes of Treatment of 47 Cases of Post Traumatic Clawing of Foot in Sina Hospital Tehran

Introduction & Clawing of toes of foot are usually seen in neuromuscular disorders، but in some instances، after trauma to leg، which may be accompanied with fracture or not، after healing of fracture or soft tissue injuries، clawing deformity of foot may be appeared. We try to determine the cause of it and the most appropriate treatment for it. We studied 47 patients from1382 to1386. After getting patients approval، they enter our study. All of them were our original patients who were referred to emergency room of our hospital for their first trauma. 42 of them had fracture of leg but in 5 cases there were no fracture of leg. In the follow up visits of them، we clawing of their foot so we examine them for sensory and motor function and took radiography and electromyography (EMG) of their lower extremity. We did tenotomy of the flexors of their toes and removed callosities when it was necessary. There were no sensory or motor deficit in their traumatized lower extremities and also there were no abnormality in their EMG. In their X rays، there were no obvious or huge callus mass. In the radiography of their foot، there were no fracture of foot bones and also no abnormality of their toes like malunion or destruction of small joints of their feet. We tried to rule out some causes of the clawing of foot. There were no checkrein effect of the fracture callus، and in EMG، there were no nerve injury nor any bony abnormality in X rays. They had only unilateral problem and their clawing began after trauma. So neuromuscular diseases could be ruled out. We think a fibrotic event after crush injury to calf muscles can produce this deformity.