Tendonitis

What is tendonitis?

Your bones provide the majority of the support in your feet, but the tendons, muscles, and ligaments are what keeps them together, allowing your bones to function and move. Your tendons are bands of tissue that connect your muscles to your bones, while your ligaments attach bone to bone.

Your tendons are under a fair amount of stress and strain on a daily basis. Aside from standard stressors, more strenuous pursuits -- such as sports activities -- make your soft tissues work harder to keep your feet and ankles functioning correctly. Over time, small tears may develop in the tissue, which can lead to inflammation and pain, otherwise known as tendonitis.

Where can I get tendonitis in the feet and ankles?

Your feet and ankles contain many tendons, but tendonitis typically strikes your:

• Peroneal tendons, two tendons found on the outside of your ankle down to your foot
• Achilles tendon, the large tendon in the back of your ankle
• Extensor tendons along the top of your foot
• Plantar fascia, the band of ligaments that stretch across the bottom of your foot

While this last condition involves your ligaments and not your tendons, plantar fasciitis is an inflammatory condition that’s almost identical to tendonitis.

What causes tendonitis?

The primary driver behind tendonitis is wear and tear over time. There are, however, other causes, which include:

• Poor foot structure
• Injury, which results in an acute tear or strain of your tendon
• Medical conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis or gout 

How is tendonitis treated?

How the team at Sports Arena Podiatry Group treats your tendonitis depends on the location and severity of the condition. With minor tendonitis, they typically prescribe:

• Icing therapy
• Anti-inflammatory medications
• Orthotics
• Bracing
• Rest
• Physical therapy

When it comes to tendonitis, patience is critical. You need to allow time for your body to heal; as your body repairs the tears, the inflammation should subside.

In more extreme cases of tendonitis, the team may recommend non-weight-bearing or limited weight-bearing solutions, such as a boot or crutches. In less common cases, you may need surgery to repair large tears, in which case the team points you in the right direction for specialized help.

If tendonitis is hampering your ability to move about freely, call the team at Sports Arena Podiatry Group or book an appointment online.