Iselin's disease as an uncommon cause of foot pain

Abstract

Iselin's disease is an uncommon cause of lateral foot pain in children and adolescents. Iselin's disease represents a stress-related injury to the base of the fifth metatarsal and associated apophysitis. The diagnosis requires careful clinical and radiological evaluation. The characteristic radiological features help in confirming the diagnosis and exclude the traumatic injury as a key differential diagnosis. This disorder, however, can be misdiagnosed in primary care or rural settings due to a lack of knowledge or limited experience of the health-care workers. Iselin's disease should be kept in the differential diagnosis in an adolescent with localized fifth metatarsal base pain and should be investigated for the appropriate treatment. We present a series of seven cases presenting with pain and characteristic radiological features of Iselin's disease. All were managed conservatively and recovered with good functional outcomes.