I have had it for 10 months now. The tendon that wraps down under the inside ankle bone is sore. I can swim and bike ok but can’t run without it hurting. I’ve been to a foot/ankle orthopedic surgeon, chiropracter, trigger point therapist, and orthotics specialist: all of them tops in our area.
This is a maladay that comes back at you even if you stop all training because all kinds of daily activities can aggrevate this tendon. Perhaps if I stopped using my legs it would go away. It is possible that swimming (pushing off the wall) and biking aggrevate it but if they do there is no immediate tell tale signs.
Has anyone had this problem and, if so, what did you do to resolve it?
Bill
I had this recently. Mine was caused by inadequate support in my biking shoes even though it only hurt when running. I put an over the counter orthotic (superfeet) in my biking as well as my everyday shoes, work loafers, even my slippers. I needed better arch support as I have pretty flat feet.
I also iced a lot as well as deep massage. Good luck.
Is the pain located on the under side of your foot on the outside in front of the heel bone? It could also be a slightly dropped cuboid bone, one of the small bones of the foot in front of the calcaneous. Find yourself an anatomy book or give me a few minutes and I’ll find an url on the web to repost here. Palpate your foot on the outside just in front of the fifth metatarsel tuberosity. Is there pain there. This bone can be “adjusted” by chiropractors. Don’t know if your chiro thought of this but tell him I suggested that it could also be a condition known as cuboid syndrome.
Sounds like you’ve seen all the right people. If it’s a genuine tendinitis I’ve treated these before with ultrasound, electro therapy and orthotics.
Got to see a few of my own chiro patients now. Will post an url later.
I’m dealing with this now. Mine was caused by incorrectly adjusted orthotics. Not sure what your PT had you do, but I do ‘arch lifts’ (basically the toes scrunching the towel thing) and the band work (band from outside, moving toe in and up). Of course icing every time I run. And when I remember to.
So, since I’m assuming all your professionals ruled out a biomechanics issue, keep the muscles in the area strong, your calves loose and take it slow. If all else fails, vitiman I will get you through that important race.
I originally got this a couple years ago from ramping up mileage too quickly for my first marathon. It is incredibly aggravating but I eventually mastered it.
I got custom orthotics and never walked a step without them.
Lots of stretching as prescribed by Dr.
Icing whenever needed.
Orthotics even in cycling shoes for as long as I needed it.
Eliminating or reducing anything that aggravates it, yes just like pushing off on the pool wall.
I stuck with a podatrist. Please stay away from the butchers. You almost certainly don’t need to be cut up to solve this problem. Keep in mind the old adage “if all you have is a hammer then everything looks like a nail”. How many times have you gone to someone specializing in X and not been told that you need X?
Dude, he’s already seen “a butcher” (the foot and ankle guy), and I assume “the butcher” didn’t operate on him since he didn’t mention it. Are there orthopods out there who operate at the drop of a hat - sure, but this guy didn’t, which disproves your worn-out aphorism about nails.
There are uncommon times when surgery prevents complete tib post tendon rupture. Complete rupture of this tendon is the end of running. Period. Which mostly is to say that tendonitis here should be treated with tons of patience in addition to the treatments that you have listed.
One other thing to try (in addition to the good suggestions already posted) if your day to day activities aren’t letting things settle down is an Aircast stirrup - the kind you get for ankle sprains. Lets your tendon do a little less work when weight bearing.
I’m sure you’ve heard this already, but be patient - it does tend to get better, but you really, really don’t want the tendon to rupture.
I should have asked the slowtwitchers for suggestions 6 months ago. There are some good ideas here.
df
The foot that has this problem has a medium dropped arch. Also, I believe the problem began with two changes related to the bike: using PCs, which pushed me to higher gears and far greater force on my feet, and new bike shoes, Sidi Genuis. The later fit like a glove. Maybe too good; I was overtightening them for awhile. And compared to my Carnacs they have a much higher built in heel lift. I have tried orthodics (Superfeet) in my bike shoes but really didn’t stick with it. They don’t fit in the Sidis very well.
Your remark that yours was caused by the bike but only hurts when you run sure fits. I will play with bike orthotics some more.
Cerveloguy
I took a look at the website discussing cubois syndrome. I understand now why you raise it as a possiblity. And this is the kind of dislocation I could have caused with my new bike shoes and higher forces. Palpation, however, doesn’t give me any convincing evdience. I have had persistant plantar soreness that has accompanied this and some of it is where this article describes. I am continually stretching and messaging the plantar. Whatever is wrong definitely includes extra stress on the planater.
KDM
I was icing routinely whenever I tried to run. Maybe I will go back to easy running with icing and see if I can keep it at bay. I am trying various strengthing routines but I have been not been consistent with these, and at times I worry about them aggrevating the tendon.
Tom
The foot/ankle specialist did an MRI which showed just a little fluid around the achillies tendon and just in front of the inside ankle bone. Nothing remarkable and she never even pondered surgery. I was concerned about tearing it at IMLP and she said it would hurt but the likelyhold of tearing it was very small. She is good and understands the mechanics of running but she does NOT seem to understand the mechanics of biking.
Deke,
I had not thought of an aircast but I suspect if I immobilized this for awhile it would quite down. I am afraid, however, of how long that would take and if it would come right back at me if I haven’t figured out the cause. Also, I worry about a ghost from the past; I sprained this ankle playing soccer about 40 years ago. It took 2 years before I no longer noticed it.