The foot is a complex conglomerate of joints, ligaments, and muscles. It is through the interplay of these structures which gives humans the ability to walk and perform different functional tasks in a bipedal stance. The foot is vulnerable to a significant amount of stress during the daily grind. Hence, these repetitive stress at times can be the antecedent to certain foot pathology. This theory on repetitive stress is currently one of the accepted causes of a painful foot condition known as Morton 's neuroma [MN] (Rout et al., 2009). For this week 's discussion, the author wishes to discuss the two diagnostic imaging commonly employed by clinicians in confirming the diagnosis for MN. The research article by Fazal, Khan, and Thomas (2012) shall serve as the springboard for the discussion on the use of ultrasonography (US) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in MN.
Fazal et al. (2012) characterized MN as a benign nonneoplastic condition accompanied with neural degeneration and perineural fibrosis (p. 184). Xu et al. (2015), indicated in their article that the predilection for the neuroma is the third web space of the forefoot. Further, Fazal et …show more content…
According to Jewell (2015), the independent t-test is employed to show the difference between two groups. This method was used to determine the differences between the means of US and MRI, more specifically helpful in the analysis of the sensitivity of each modality with different neuroma sizes. The P value reported by the authors was 0.39 (Fazal et al., 2012, p. 185). According to Jewell (2015), a P value of lower than 0.05 is more convincing and meaningful (p. 194). Additionally, the smaller the P value (<0.05), the more statistically significant the result is (Jewell, 2015, p. 221). Jewell (2015) cautioned that evidence-based physical therapist must rely on their judgment in determining the clinical significance of a study’s findings (p.
Fazal et al. (2012) characterized MN as a benign nonneoplastic condition accompanied with neural degeneration and perineural fibrosis (p. 184). Xu et al. (2015), indicated in their article that the predilection for the neuroma is the third web space of the forefoot. Further, Fazal et …show more content…
According to Jewell (2015), the independent t-test is employed to show the difference between two groups. This method was used to determine the differences between the means of US and MRI, more specifically helpful in the analysis of the sensitivity of each modality with different neuroma sizes. The P value reported by the authors was 0.39 (Fazal et al., 2012, p. 185). According to Jewell (2015), a P value of lower than 0.05 is more convincing and meaningful (p. 194). Additionally, the smaller the P value (<0.05), the more statistically significant the result is (Jewell, 2015, p. 221). Jewell (2015) cautioned that evidence-based physical therapist must rely on their judgment in determining the clinical significance of a study’s findings (p.