posterior tibial tendonitis

Have been suffering with this complaint for just over six months now and have made very little progress so far.  Have done all the resting, stretching and exercising the physio, doctor and ankle specialist have recommended but still can not run and it's driving me mad!

Has anyone else had this complaint and found a cure?

deep massage sorted mine. really really really deep - thumbs into tendon style.

Coincidently I have just started doing exactly that and although I may be clutching at straws the ankle does seem to be just a tiny bit easier.

Thanks for the advice.

i had mine done by a massage therapist. she attacked it every week and one week, we both heard loads of 'popping' noises. after that session i was completing pain free. it was almost as if she had popped out the inflammation in the tendon - i'm sure that's not what happened but it felt like she was bursting  bubblewrap! literally from that day on i have had no more problems with it, and i had had issue for about 3 years before i started seeing her.

obviously i had done lots of other rehab stuff, such as strengthening, stretching, going on a wobble board for proprioception and getting supportive running shoes and orthotics. but i was still in pain in spite of all those things. until the night of the popping!

Only have the problem in one foot 'luckily'!  One thing that did become obvious to me as soon as the injury came on was that when I was still able to go for a gentle jog it had to be on even ground as running across fields and footpaths made it hurt like hell. The tendon steadies the ankle and due to it being weakened the ankle was wobbling all over the place making the situation worse. Even now after months of strenghthening exercises it is still very difficult to stand on one leg with the injured foot as it is not strong enough to hold steady.

The massage mentioned in another post seems to be having an effect but it may be just coincidence, only time will tell.

Just got in from a slow 30 minutes jog, so will see what reaction I get to that. 

I've had a similar problem and know it is a notoriously hard tendon to get to heal as it has a poor blood supply and is a postural tendon so is hard to rest. I'm currently working with a physio who is not treating the tendon itself ( I had all that with poor results as the cause was not being addressed)   but is working to improve the foot arch support by building up all the surrounding muscles etc, and also doing things like getting my glutes strong on each side as an inbalance was causing me to have uneven foot strike etc. a long process but I can see progress......Good Luck with yours.

That sounds encouraging Beth.....We need good news stories about this injury. I've been out of action now for 20 months..the swimming has come on a treat though and I can see some very vague six pack type core muscles from all the core work so not all bad !

Well I don't want to speak too soon as I know what this injury is like; you think you are getting better and then it creeps up on you again.

I wish I'd persevered with the swimming Sarah - I'm very impressed!

i had this injury for over 3 years. i did manage to run with it - although did have periods of time off when it was acute.  i also developed achilles tendonitis as a side effect. having orthotics and stable shoes (yes - both!) did stabilise things eventually, although i still do have weak glutes and a back issue and now hamstring problems too. so i think the problem has just transferred itself elsewhere. but since the popping sensation in the massage 7 years ago, i haven't had so much as a touch of tib post problems!

Caramel : I am aware that if / when the tib post heals I shall have to be mega aware that the rest of my body will have forgotten how to run..although hopefully keeping up with the cross trainer at the gym will help a bit. Last time I was off for a long time with another foot injury I trained to walk a marathon as part of the recovery and I think this helped me not go back to running too fast and also helped once I did then run.

I had this and progressed onto achilles tendonitis and a stress fracture from trying to 'run through it'

It healed after a year off!!

OW, did you do anything during the year off to aid healing?

Update on my posterior tibialis tendon injury.

The deep massage seems to be doing the job ( although it might just be coincidence). Massaging three times a day, it hurt at first but am now immune to the pain! Definately need to strengthen the tendon as I have been jogging a few times and have gone over on my ankle twice so have just bought a wobble board and am giving that a go. Hoping that I will be able to run again 'normally' soon and eventually get back to racing sometime in the new year.