Tendinitis can affect four different tendons of the foot - the achilles tendon, the posterior tibial tendon, the anterior tibial tendon and the peroneal tendon. Posterior Tibial Tendonitis is a common overuse injury that affects the inside arch of the foot. This tendon that assists in holding the arch of the foot also prevents your foot from rolling. If a person has tendonitis of the foot, he or she may have inflammation at the in-step area of the foot and also have a flat foot deformity.

Symptoms of an inflamed posterior tibial tendon may include:

• Pain along the in-step of the foot.
• Shooting, stabbing or burning pain in the foot.
• If standing on their toes, the patient will feel intense pain in the arch of their foot.

Reducing the severity of the symptoms is the first step in alleviating this tendinitis, and your doctor will know how to do this best. Your doctor may tell you to use ice/cold compression or heat, take certain medications, and/or limit your activity to help control the pain and swelling. Ice/cold compression helps prevent swelling and reduces pain. Place ice/a cold compression wrap on the painful area for 10 minutes at a time, several times a day. If the inital swelling has gone down, heat may help- apply a heating pad or hot towels to the tendon for 30 minutes at a time, two or three times a day. When treating the posterior tibial tendon, rest the area (meaning do NOT put physical strain on this area other than stretching), and apply ice or cold compression for 10-20 minutes at a time for at least 3 times a day. Do this to the injured area for 1-3 days. Moist heat (e.g. a hot bath) may be used after the acute swelling is improved, and rest prevents further muscle injury. Ice/cold compression will reduce initial inflammation and swelling, and the moist heat circulates blood through the area to speed the healing process. This can be further helped by the use of ultrasound applications over the affected area, as it reduces swelling quickly and increases blood flow to the area.

Returning to activity too soon will probably cause the symptoms to re-occur. Preventive measures for all types of foot tendinitis include proper warm up and stretching exercises, wearing the right type of shoe for the activity, choosing shoes with good arch and heel support and varying your exercise route and routine.

The trick to healing any tendon injury is getting it to heal with minimal scar tissue formation, and with as much realignment of tendon fibres as possible- something Inferno Wraps and Therapeutic Ultrasound are great at! Even with optimum healing, there is always less elasticity in a previously injured tendon. If you heal this the best you can, your chance of re-injury later on is much lower than average.