Ball-and-socket ankle joint: 4 case reports

The Authors describe their experience about 4 patients, all women, affected by a rare deformity known as ''ball and socket'' ankle joint. After a review of the up-to-date Literature and a clinical description of each case, the Authors focus their attention on the association among the joint deformity, the talocalcaneal bony coalition and the few symptoms referred by the patients. The main factor related to the poor symptomatology, in Authors opinion, is the fusion between the talus and the calcaneus which highlights, from another point of view, the lack of proprioceptive and nociceptive fibers into the sinus tarsi.