Posterior Tibial Tendonitis

by Chris M.
(Michigan)

Will posterior tibial tendonitis go away on its own?
I went to the doctor and she told me I have this condition but really didn't do anything to treat it.
Was set up for physical therapy, but not given a wrap or brace to wear.

Am I just supposed to limp around till it gets better?

Was also told to take Aleeve twice a day....thats all the treatment I was given.

Answer by Dominique:
Hi Chris,
Thanks for your running injury question. Posterior tibial tendonitis can be a painful injury.

With regards to the treatment, I can't start playing doctor and second-guess what your physician may have thought when you talked to her. So, I will just talk to the general course of action that I believe is normally taken.

As a first step, rest (yes, no or limited running) and anti-inflammatories/ice are definitely recommended to provide some relief.

When this does not work, more rigorous ways to give the foot some rest are needed. This could be done via a (short) leg cast to make sure the tendon's movements are limited.

When nothing helps, there is the possibility to get a scan of the foot to properly see the damage to the area. This may result in a recommendation to get surgery done to the posterior tibial tendon.

It seems like your doctor may have diagnosed your situation to be "mild" and therefore she started off with the standard treatment of rest and anti-inflammatories.

It would probably have been helpful if she would have taken a few minutes to explain further possible treatments down the line and inform you completely.

She may not have considered those other treatments relevant at this time, she may have just been very busy and not ready to have this chat with you.

If the pain does not go away, definitely go see her again and see what the next steps are that can be taken. This time be a bit more inquisitive about possible ways of treatment and don't let her get away with providing you with only half the story!

Best of luck with this. You can find some more information about this running injury on this page about Posterior Tibial Tendonitis.