Tennis player Rafael Nadal has Mueller-Weiss syndrome. Spontaneous osteonecrosis of the navicular bone, another name for this disease, is a very rare pathology. Among the symptoms, foot pain. How to treat it? By operation? We take stock.
Mueller-Weiss syndrome or Spontaneous osteonecrosis of the navicular (or scaphoid) bone is a very rare disease of foot. The tennis player Rafael Nadal has this disease. From symptomsthe disease causes pains at foot level. The operation is considered when the treatments fail to cure Mueller-Weiss disease. What is Mueller-Weiss syndrome? What are the causes and the symptoms ? What treatment ? When to use the operation ?
Definition: what is Mueller-Weiss syndrome?
Mueller-Weiss syndrome also called “spontaneous osteonecrosis of the navicular bone” is a very rare pathology of the foot. It is manifested by compression of the navicular bone between the talus and the lateral cuneiform bone, leading to spontaneous osteonecrosis (death of bone tissue) of the navicular bone. This degenerative disease affects adults generally between 40 and 60 years old and mainly women. The term comes from Mueller’s 1927 description of the chronic deformity of the navicular bone in adults.
What are the causes of Mueller-Weiss syndrome?
It’s a disease idiopathic that is, the causes are unknown. But there are risk factors such as :
- Overweightobesity
- Flat feet
- 1st metatarsal too short and too much length of the 2nd metatarsal
- Metatarsus adductus (malformation foot)
- Episode of malnutrition during childhood (anorexia, etc.)
- Repetition of mechanical constraints on the navicular bone
- Stress fracture
What are the symptoms of Mueller-Weiss syndrome?
The main symptom is foot pain localized in particular on the dorsal side and aggravated by walking. Among other symptoms, the osteopath Mary Messenger quotes on his website:
- Pains at the level of the navicular bone or at the level of the midfoot.
- Mechanical pain that increases with activity.
- Pain on palpation of the navicular.
- Possible swelling of the area (possible edema).
What treatment in Mueller-Weiss syndrome?
The most common treatments are:
- the rest in order to limit the constraints on this bone.
- A take anti-inflammatory.
- the orthopedic treatment : soles…
- The surgery.
When should you operate?
Surgical intervention is prescribed for patients for whom the treatments (rest, anti-inflammatory, insoles) not not work.
Source: Mueller–Weiss Syndrome: A Rare Cause of Foot Pain, The Journal of Internal Medicine. December 2018.