# Posterior Tibial Tendon Injury



## GKDave (Nov 13, 2005)

Hi Folks,

If anyone can be of help, great! I have an injury to my Posterior Tibial Tendon. For those that do not know what it is, it's the tendon that holds up the arch of the foot and goes underneath the inside ankle bone and connects a muscle in the calf. I am having new Orthonics made for my feet to supoort my feet better. My question is can clipless shoes cause this injury? If therapy does not help, I'm going to have an MRI done to see the extent of the injury. Frankly, it's been 2 months since I injured it walking, and it's still not healed. I'm probably going to have to have an MRI done. If you ask me, it should have been done when I first went to see my doctor. 

Thanks,

Dave


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## HokieRider (Oct 6, 2005)

I'm going through a similar thing right now....mine is the peroneal tendon, which could be the same tendon with a different name...same position though. I was rock climbing 3 months ago and fell, rolling the ankle. My MRI showed no tendon tears, but showed a major bone bruise on the bottom of the tibia. No running or jumping, but they're letting me ride. I'm going to PT twice a week to work on strengthing the tendons and ligaments so that when the bruise goes away I'll be ready to go with everything else.

They can't do the MRI right away because the swelling blocks all the good stuff and it would be a total waste of time and money. I was pissed too when they made me wait, but now I know why. 

As far as clips go, I made mine as easy as humanly possible to get into and out of, and it is a little sore when I try to unclip quickly, so I avoid that as much as possible by unclipping with the other foot. 

Sorry that was so long....any questions, PM me.


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## bbcngineer (Sep 22, 2006)

I don't think these are the same tendons. The peronoeus longus tendon does connect under the arch and keeps the foot from rolling inward. I tore both Peroneal Tendons in Feb. but did not see a doctor until June. The doc. ordered an MRI which clearly showed the complete tears. The only way to correct was with surgery. I had the operation Sept 6 and will be in a cast until Oct 13. I don't think there was any penalty from a recovery time perspective for waiting. The penalty was daily discomfort. I will not wait again I will see a doctor immediately.

bbcngineer


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## kemorr (Sep 25, 2006)

You didn't say exactly how you injured yourself, but the injury you have is usually an overuse injury, though it could potentially be caused by trauma as well. I am pretty new to cycling, but have been running for a while. It is not an uncommon injury in runners who have flat feet. Overpronation (repetitive turning in) of the foot is what causes the injury, I got it when I started increasing my running mileage back in the summer and was running without my orthotics for some reason (not a good idea), it hurt to walk for 3-4 days. If you have flat feet then orthotics are a very good idea to prevent recurrences. 

In the short term though, rest, avoiding the activity that caused the injury, ice, and an anti-inflammatory like Aleve or Ibuprofen around the clock for several days or a week should help. If you keep doing what caused the injury it will NOT go away. I had to take over a week off of running and eased back in to it slowly. This is NOT something you want to just push through the pain, you could end up with a more serious tendon injury or a stress fracture.

MRI more than likely wouldn't be helpful unless you have actually torn the tendon or have a stress fracture, and is not routinely done right away for this kind of injury. 

Hope you get to feeling better.


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## CyreneSong (Aug 10, 2005)

Blame the insurance companies for the delay in getting an MRI. Lots of insurance companies won't pay for the test until you have tried (and failed) with conservative treatment.


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