CASE 35
A 32-year-old man was playing a pickup basketball game at the gym. As he leaped into the air during a lay up he felt a sudden snap in the back of his right calf. One of the basketball players, who was a physician, examined the man and palpated a gap where the calcaneal tendon should be located. While standing, the doctor had the injured man attempt to stand on his toes. This action in the right foot was weak. The physician noted a positive Thompson test. The man was diagnosed with a rupture of the calcaneal tendon. The lower limb was immobilized in a cast with the foot in equinus.
