Posterior Tibial Tendonitis Symptoms Causes

Fallen arches and flat feet can cause you a lot of grief. Your feet can tire quickly, become swollen, painful, or achy, and cause you back and leg pain.

If you want to avoid this condition, you’ll also want to address one of its most frequent causes: posterior tibial tendonitis.

What Is Posterior Tibial Tendonitis?

Tendons attach muscles to bones throughout the body. The tendons that attach your calf muscles to the bones on the inside of your feet are called the posterior tibial tendons.

These tendons are critical to movement as they hold up the arches of the feet and support them when you walk.

Posterior tibial tendonitis develops when that tendon is torn or becomes inflamed.

When that happens, the tendon loses the ability to provide the support for the arch of the foot it is supposed to, leading to flatfoot and a fallen arch.

Posterior Tibial Tendonitis Flat Feet

Symptoms of Posterior Tibial Tendonitis

The most common symptoms of posterior tibial tendonitis include:

  • Pain, redness, or swelling on the inner arch, heel, or ankle
  • Pain, redness, or swelling on the outer ankle or back of the heel
  • Foot pain that intensifies when running, jumping, or climbing
  • Foot pain after standing for long periods or walking short distances

Causes of Posterior Tibial Tendonitis

As with other forms of tendonitis, such as Achilles tendonitis, overuse and injury are the two primary causes behind posterior tibial tendonitis.

That is why the condition frequently develops in people who regularly engage in high impact sports, such as tennis, basketball, or soccer.

Women and people over the age of 40 are at higher risk for the condition, as are those who are obese or have diabetes or hypertension.

Posterior tibial tendonitis is a progressive condition, which means it gets worse the longer it goes untreated. That is why it is important to address the issue sooner rather than later.

By doing so, it increases the chances that non-surgical treatments will effectively resolve the problem.

These treatment options include:

  • Resting the foot and applying ice for 20 minutes at a time, several times a day
  • Physical therapy
  • Custom orthotic shoe inserts
  • Leg, foot, or ankle braces
  • Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications
  • Cortisone injections

In more extreme cases, or if non-surgical approaches fail to alleviate the pain and discomfort, surgery may be the preferred or only option.

Call Our Foot and Ankle Specialists Today

At JAWS Podiatry in Hollywood, Florida, we utilize the most advanced and non-invasive techniques to reduce pain and speed recovery for individuals suffering from foot and ankle problems, including posterior tibial tendonitis.

If you’d like to learn more about the innovative and effective treatments we provide or how we can help you with your foot and ankle issues, please send us a message or call us at (954) 922-7333 to schedule a consultation.