Posterior Tibial Tendon Tear Help needed

That sounds scary. Were there any warning signs leading up to this? Are you a distance runner or sprinter?

I don't recommend anyone do this, but I had a rather bad PTT issue a while back. My foot was pretty swollen and the arch appeared to start drooping. Everything I read and was told was that I needed surgery. I rolled the dice and taped that thing and just kept running. Eventually it went away with no issues since. The body is a weird thing. Good luck.

long distance. The tear actually was sudden due to a severe ankle sprain. Kind of a perfect storm I guess.

Get in a see a good sports related rehab person. Surgery should be a very last ditch effort.

There are a number of rehab exercises that will help along with some very painful deep tissue work. The boot is bad , slows the heeling process , active ankle braces that allow more mobility work far better.

Can the running for now. Try elliptical machine and stationary bike.

Have struggled with PT Tendonitis on and off for many yrs. I found the Elliptical to be the only option. Once you can walk without any pain at all, it's time for lots of wobble-board exercises - balancing one-legged. Make sure to work out both legs equally. I get Achilles and PT issues on my dominant leg, and my theory is that the other leg needs to take more of the load.

A wobble board is essential to rehab. Make sure to get an old-school wooden one. Make sure you become really good with it. You want to be able to balance for at least one minute, on one leg, on the highest (i.e. fastest, most difficult) centre dome.

Immobilize right away. I made the mistake of trying to run on a longitudinally torn posterior tibialis tendon for a while (emphasis on "trying"), and it eventually got to the point where it was chronically inflamed and then nothing I did would get it to heal. Physical therapy, ultrasound, massage, EWST, ART, immobilization (too late in the game), etc all did nothing. I eventually gave in and had surgery after a year of trying and failing with conservative treatments. Posterior tibialis repair and flexor digitorum longus transfer. I think recovery was something like eight weeks in a card cast NWB, and another two in a boot PWB. Then a ton of physical therapy, and then several visits to a chiropractor to fix what all that time on crutches had done to my SI joint. Took me about a year post-surgery to build back to approximately where I was pre-injury. My ankle can handle 100 mile weeks no problem, but I am careful about doing too much on the track.

I saw a foot doctor recently after having pains in my arches after running. He told me I had inflamed PTT and told me to get an MRI and wear a boot to calm it down. I declined the MRI or the boot as I have no insurance. I have had flat feet since childhood, running for 10 years and experimenting with Vibram 5-fingers and other minimalist running shoes for the past few years, believing it would strengthen my arches, and I thought it was working. I asked the Dr. if I could run again, and he said yes, but not the marathon I'm signed up for next month. Like most of you, I can't imagine my life without running, but I don't want to cause further damage especially if I can avoid surgery. And I don't think I would do the surgery just to keep running, as long as I can do other exercises. My question is, is there any way to know if I need surgery without the MRI? If it doesn't hurt while walking, can I assume it's OK at least? Will it get worse if I don't run? If anyone else can share your experiences. I have been through a lot of minor injuries in my running career, and really thought I could push through this too. I wish I could afford a chiropractor or osteopath. I've also heard about a book "Running with the Whole Body" by Heggie based on the Feldenkrais Method, but I suppose it's too late... Can anyone share their experiences with avoiding surgery?

I've continued to run on what's likely a mild PTT tear for the past 2 months (injured it in August and took 4 weeks off). Very similar story to you: I'm flat footed and injured it in a severe high ankle sprain. When I first started running it felt terrible, and still gets sore sometimes, but it's not unbearable. Speedwork seems to make it worse.

Do you have the "too many toes" sign? I don't, which leads me to think that the tendon's in OK condition.

I tore my ptt completely 10 years ago .wore a brace while running for a couple of months had cork orthotics made been running ever since.heard the same stories your arch will collapse you'll never run again .running

Fitzwell wrote:

I don't recommend anyone do this, but I had a rather bad PTT issue a while back. My foot was pretty swollen and the arch appeared to start drooping. Everything I read and was told was that I needed surgery. I rolled the dice and taped that thing and just kept running. Eventually it went away with no issues since. The body is a weird thing. Good luck.

I tore my ptt completely 10 years ago .wore a brace while running for a couple of months had cork orthotics made been running ever since.heard the same stories your arch will collapse you'll never run again .running

Fitzwell wrote:

I don't recommend anyone do this, but I had a rather bad PTT issue a while back. My foot was pretty swollen and the arch appeared to start drooping. Everything I read and was told was that I needed surgery. I rolled the dice and taped that thing and just kept running. Eventually it went away with no issues since. The body is a weird thing. Good luck.

How where you diagnosed? with an MRI? I had PT and PTT and trying to run through it for a few months. I finally gave up a decided to try all the stuff you mentioned. That was 5 years ago. I still can't run more than 5k without my PTT flaring up.

Hi

any update on this

what you did