posterior tibialis tendonitis

Has anyone recovered successfully from this? I damaged tendon on a two day walking trip when I forgot to put orthotics in boots and was carrrying a heavy rucksac. This was in february.

Left it a few weeks hoping it would heal but have since been to my osteopath ( who has treated me very successfully for things in the past so I do trust her )  and she has been working on it for a few weeks with a little, but not much change. She is consulting with foot specialist to see where to go next. As I already use orthotics the biomechanics should be correct. I have been reading up on braces,  arch supports etc but has anyone any experiences to share? . 

Meanwhile, working on the ankle and foot with strong massage and icing as shown by osteopath is helping a  bit....oh, and I haven't run at all: the good news is that I'm a lot less pathetic in the pool now and am dead chuffed with the improvements in my swimming!

Comments

  • Yep Sarah - took about 6 weeks to heal for me.

    Got a bit of ultrasound on it, then exercises from the physio and the excellent Michigan Uni Sports medicine website...so good infact that they realised this and made it subscription only image

    Good luck.

  • That's encouraging thank you.

    I guess although it is 11 weeks post injury I have only been proactively treating it for 4 weeks and it is showing some change...so frustrating though as it is such a tiny injury and is not stopping me doing normal things. if I was not sporty I guess I would just live with it.

  • Thats true - seems that hopefully should take the same time as mine to heal.

    Mine healed - then did a stupidly muddy cross country and tweaked the inside of my knee - another 6 weeks out!!

  • I have this!!

     It took me a long while to work out what I had, doctors were clueless, physio at the hospital was even worse (my 'remedy' was to hop until it hurt then wait for it to recover before repeating again aiming to stregnthen....I lasted one hop each time and after 4 near enough blood enducing sessions -or thats how it felt, I did not return for more!)- I'm sure they thought I was making it up! It was only after I worked out what it was and went back to my doctor I got a referal to a foot doctor who said it was the above, called a physio for back-up who also agreed and now I'm awaiting the results of an x-ray to make sure its nothing worse.

    Thing is, for me nothing helps. I have worn insoles for the last few months and they have made the pain spread to the other (anterior) side of my leg. Its gotten worse with time rather then easier and I can last between 1 and 4 minutes before pain returns just by walking around.

    I had this in the other leg a few years ago, it lasted about 18 months before I really could not even attempt running at all, walking was just as bad (about where I'm at now) it took about 8 months to become runnable on. I have no idea what changed to make it go away but am sure resting, nutrition, massage (saw a sports massuse by chance at a training college) made a difference as I managed a good 3 months of running before it returned after I switched from the treadmill to hard outside concrete.

    I hope everyone elses repairs faster then mine did/are doing, its not a nice injury to have.

  • Oh..that's not good to read. Sorry you have had all those problems. I'm hoping as the osteopath is good       ( and has not told me to hop ! ) and is making a referral to a foot specialist relatively quickly after I sought help from her I may have better luck.

    I can walk about on a day to day basis absolutely fine..but can't 'go for a walk ' as the brisk walking makes the tendon 'burn'...very frustrating. I can still raise up on my toes and turn my toes in so either I'm making it up or it is just very mild but it is definitely there. I hope that although it has been going on for some weeks now as it is mild maybe it will heal soon once it has the correct treatment. 

  • Thanks! I hope you get on OK with the foot doctor- inadvertantly it was a foot doctor who was the most helpful to me, I was referred part by accident, I thought I had fallen arches and that was what was causing the shin pain, went to my doctor told them this was what was wrong and got a referral. He then said I did not have fallen arches but that it was shinsplints, the physio then agreed with his diagnosis after I was sent to be double checked. I hope you get somewhere with that, it did work for me!

    I know what you mean about not being able to go for a walk, I barely manage 60 seconds before any pain sets in regardless of any insoles any shoes or any compression guards- though do find compression shin guards help reduce part of the pain. It could be psychosomatic but they work for me so were worth the £10 expense! (Runners Need, blue velcro things for shins). If its any help, turning my toes up makes no difference either, its really in the impact however small, and the repetition of any impact. Sometimes though even things like cycling/spinning, the cross trainer and similarly non impact based exercises can also bring on the pain which I don't notice until I've stopped. It can also throb for ages after doing very little for hours (eg on sitting on the train) so its not so predictable!

    What else I do find helps though are (aside from the compression) is sports massage to losen up the calf- you don't notice it helps at first but I had one and after a week or so things really seemed much better, having had the pain for 2 years at that point the fact that it reduced after having this massage when I had not tried anything else new at all was enough for me to connect the two.

     I also find the iburpofen or voltrol gels help if you apply them before any exercise: just don't apply before a night out as they leave a really odd sheeny glaze which can look odd unless you have this on both legs!!

    And elevation, whilst not amazing can help, a bit like the gels, your reducing inflammation but you do gotta elevate the leg for 30 mins or so to really notice the difference, calves above your heart is the rule of thumb but I find laying with my feet and legs right up against a wall works best, If you find your feet keep slipping fasten then losely together at the ankles with a belt (dressing gown belts are best for this as they are soft) or even better still a yoga strap! Then they can push away from each other as much as they want-infact its best if they do as it keeps your legs raised but they wont slide so you have to put effort into concerntrating on keeping your legs upright! Otherwise known as lymphatic drainage.

Sign In or Register to comment.