Trokos

Test library › Foot, ankle & calf

Dorsiflexion–eversion test (tarsal tunnel)

For: Tarsal tunnel syndrome

Compression of the tibial nerve or its branches in the tunnel behind and below the inner ankle bone. Causes burning, tingling or numbness in the sole of the foot.

Treat with caution (see below)
Sensitivity82%
Specificity100%
LR+ (positive)not calculable (specificity 100%)
LR− (negative)0.18

Caution: Cases were surgical and controls were healthy volunteers, which inflates accuracy.

What the numbers mean

  • Positive result: no false positives were seen in the study, so no likelihood ratio can be calculated. How far to trust that depends on how many people without the condition were studied; see the caution above.
  • Negative result: see the caution above before relying on this result.

Work out what a result means for your patient: probability calculator

Source

Kinoshita M, Okuda R, Morikawa J, Jotoku T, Abe M. The dorsiflexion-eversion test for diagnosis of tarsal tunnel syndrome. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2001;83(12):1835–1839. PubMed · single study

Figures as they will appear in Rule It In, Rule It Out (Trokos, forthcoming). If a newer or better study changes them, this page changes with the book. Figures last updated from the book on 6 October 2026.

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This page gives the published figures. Rule It In, Rule It Out adds how to do this test, what counts as positive, how to read the result, and, where studied, whether combining it with other tests helps.

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One study, one test, once a month

Rule It In is a free evidence letter for musculoskeletal clinicians: one recent study explained, one examination test with its real numbers. From Trokos, publisher of Rule It In, Rule It Out.