Overview

What is foot tendonitis?

Foot tendonitis, or tendinitis, is inflamed or irritated tissue of tendons in your foot. A tendon is just a broad, band-like structure attaching muscles to bones. It is typically caused by overuse but sometimes by an injury.

What are the different types of foot tendonitis?

There is a wide variety of foot tendonitis that cause so much pain and discomfort, such as achilles, extensor, peroneal, posterior tibial, and plantar fasciitis.

Achilles Tendonitis: Achilles tendonitis refers to the tendon connecting the heel bone to the calf muscles. The Achilles performs an essential function in executing activities such as running, jumping, or even walking.
Posterior Tibial Tendonitis: The posterior tibial tendon is the tendon that connects your calf muscles to the bones inside your foot. The symptoms of posterior tibial tendonitis include the aching pain or tenderness at the inner side of your ankle or foot whenever you try to push off with your feet. This can be accompanied by a flat foot condition and an inability to stand on your toes.
Peroneal Tendonitis: This is the type of tendonitis foot pain and inflammation around the back and outer side of your ankle or foot causes. The peroneal tendon connects your midfoot to the arch of your ankle, which helps keep you stable. When contracted with peroneal tendonitis, the pain often occurs while standing.
Flexor Tendonitis: The tendonitis foot flexor tendon stretches from the calf muscle to the toes of the feet through the side of the ankle. This tendon is significant in ensuring that you bend your toes easily. Overstretching of this tendon leads to overuse, which results in pain and inflammation.
Extensor Tendonitis: The Extensor tendon runs on the top of your foot, connecting the toes to the bones that form the front of your leg. Tendonitis of the extensor is relatively rare; it doesn't allow you to lift your toes. It hurts with extreme pain when exercising.

Who gets foot tendonitis?

Anyone can get foot tendonitis but it is more common among athletes or highly active people who overuse their tendons. You are also more likely to develop foot tendonitis if you:

Are overweight.
Do not stretch before you undertake physical activity.
Do not stretch after you undertake physical activity
Some medical conditions, like arthritis, gout, thyroid disease or diabetes.
Have flat feet.
Have had previous injuries in your tendons
Have tight tendons and your muscles in the lower limbs
Smoke or use tobacco products.

What are the symptoms and signs of foot tendonitis?

Some of the symptoms depend on the tendon that is injured. Some of them include:

Bone spurs-small lumps of extra bone near the tendon.
Pain along the tendons or at the bony attachment of the tendons.
Pain that worsens upon exercise.
The immobilized position of the tendon concerns stiffening, for instance, in the morning after sleeping.
Swelling, redness, or warmth around the tendon.
Thickening of the tendon.

What causes foot tendonitis?

Foot tendonitis generally develops slowly over time as you continue to stress the tendons of your foot. However, the onset of tendonitis can be sudden when you over-extend or over-rotate the tendon in your ankle, or use poor technique when running, jumping or playing sports.

How is foot tendonitis diagnosed?

Your doctor will conduct some sort of physical examination and also get a description of your symptoms. They will press on some parts of your foot, ankle, and calf. They’re just trying to find areas where there is swelling and tenderness. Your doctor may also ask you to move in certain ways to see how your particular range of motion, strength and pain are affected.

If your doctor suspects that you may have a fractured foot or that you have torn one of the tendons, they are likely to refer you for imaging tests such as an X-ray, MRI, CT scan, or ultrasound.

Unless you have a torn tendon in your foot, for most of them, an ultrasound is typically the preferred test to view the tendon's movement and what types of injury or degenerative changes are causing the pain.

What is the best treatment for foot tendonitis?

Your doctor will generally recommend home treatments, sometimes referred to as the RICE technique, which helps reduce foot tendon pain.

Rest: Stop any activities or exercises that might cause additional damage to your foot tendons.
Ice: Apply an ice pack or a cold compress to your foot for up to 20 minutes. Do not place ice directly on your skin.
Compression: Wrap the swelling with a compression bandage or wrap.
Elevation: Elevate your foot above the level of your heart on a pillow or cushion.

Once your doctor has identified the cause of the pain, they may recommend a treatment regimen which includes all or some of the following:

Calf stretch or exercise
Customized shoe inserts to keep your pain as minimal as possible and help support your foot when you resume physical activity
Non-narcotic pain medications.
You will need physical therapy to rehabilitate the range of motion, strength, stability and flexibility in your foot, ankle, and calf.
Soft cast or walking boot to immobilize your foot and allow healing of the tendons.

How can I prevent foot tendonitis?

You can reduce your chances of getting foot tendonitis by:

Not exerting oneself in case of pain. Let pain be your guide.
Gradual increase in physical activity intensity.
Maintenance of healthy body weight.
Avoid overworking your tendons.
Nonsmokers or never use tobacco products.
Rest between cycles of work.
Stretch before sports or physical activity.
Stretch after sports or physical activity.
Proper technique used when playing sports.
Wear supportive shoes that fit, such as orthotics if prescribed by your healthcare provider.

What is the prognosis for a patient with foot tendonitis?

Most people are completely recovered from foot tendonitis without causing permanent damage. Using conservative treatments, you can expect most tendon injuries to heal within a couple of months. However, after the surgery, your recovery time can range from 6 months to 1 year. In fact, after surgery, most people need to undergo physical therapy.

You are likely to suffer from a recurrence of a similar injury to the affected area if you have had a tendon foot injury. Avoid further re-injury if you engage in any sport or exercise.