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Original poster

Tendonitis! Please help....

21 replies

MillieMooBee · 30/12/2020 21:39

I have had tendonitis in my ankle for the last 7 weeks. Pain is terrible sometimes and then eases off a little.

Have seen a podiatrist who recommended insoles for my shoes so I have them. Also do the stretches they have me. Its still there and still painful!

Tbh it's really starting to get me down. Living with this constant pain is so draining. Can't remember the last time I had a good night's sleep. Am on my own with my daughter so I'm trying to appear normal and upbeat for her. I literally jump with the pain sometimes and of course she notices.

Has anyone else had this? Can anyone reccomened a way forward? Desperate to relieve the pain 😔

OP posts:

Original poster

MillieMooBee · 30/12/2020 21:40

Sorry just noticed the spelling in that is terrible....

OP posts:

longestlurkerever · 30/12/2020 21:43

I had this. It did go away eventually but took a long time. The stretches really do help, especially the ones where you stand on one step and hang your heels off the edge. I have various foot issues and fitflop trainers have helped.

Original poster

MillieMooBee · 30/12/2020 21:52

@longestlurkerever

Thanks for the reply 😁. Quick question for you. Did you rest it or keep doing normal activity? I read so many different things. I have to go to work etc so can't immobilise it completely.

OP posts:

longestlurkerever · 30/12/2020 22:14

I had to carry on pretty normally really though obviously no running etc. I think the stretches started helping after 6,-8 weeks but was 6 months before it was totally better. Wearing shoes with a small heel is good and I did have a splint boot at night but that was a bit of a pita.

Original poster

MillieMooBee · 30/12/2020 22:59

@longestlurkerever

Thank you. I'm finding it so difficult to know what to do for the best tbh. I will try to wear a bit of a heel. I bought an ultrasound wand and used it over the last 2days. It feels like it's making it worse!

Thank you for responding I really appreciate it x

OP posts:

Spodge · 31/12/2020 16:03

Tendonitis generally takes a while to go away - I've had it twice in my elbow and it took about 12 weeks. I would strongly recommend you see a physiotherapist to make sure you have got a full range of exercises and stretches to do. You need to do these assiduously but they do help. Once it finally goes it's a good idea to continue doing the exercises - maybe less often but at least three times a week.

lissie123 · 31/12/2020 17:27

Agree. I have tendinitis with a painful lump on my Achilles; it was awful a few weeks ago. Went to see a physio. Had to change my footwear ( walking boots were too big) reduce my walking from a couple of hours a day to 30mins a day. Gave me lots of stretching exercises. Told it would take months. It’s improving now.

Original poster

MillieMooBee · 31/12/2020 18:26

Thanks all.I now have an appointment with a physio on Monday morning. Really hope they can help as I'm really struggling to cope with the pain 😔. I'm doing the stretches I've had recommended and that I have seen online but I think it'll just take a while to see improvement.

Didn't realise tendonitis could hurt this much!

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Crimeismymiddlename · 31/12/2020 18:35

I get this more often than would like. The stretches really work, so continue. Get some heel insoles for when you have to wear shoes that aren’t great, but sturdy, well fitting boots with a slight heel are best. I have also found RICE (rest, ice, compress, elevate) to work well when it gets really bad.

somewhereovertheraincloud · 31/12/2020 18:45

I've had this.
The pain lasted for months and in the end they gave me a surgical boot to wear to completely immobilise the area for 6 weeks.
It worked perfectly. As soon as it was off I had insoles made that kept my feet in the correct position (although mine was a tendon in my arch)
My friend had tendinitis in her Achilles' tendon and also ended up wearing a surgical boot for 6 weeks in order to completely rest and heal.

FullofSurprises · 31/12/2020 18:56

I have this right now from twisting my ankle back in august. Have done all sorts to it, wore a splint, wore a walking boot, wore insoles, spent a fortune on different shoes, I've done all the physio in the world, but what I will tell you is that everyone's foot is different and for me personally insoles made it 10x worse. I am now in a pair of Nike Free TR8 and it has gotten the pain down to a point that I can walk fairly well on it. I also had acupuncture and found that helped dramatically with the pain.
I recommend seeing a podiatrist and having ultrasound treatment and some massage done to the area, it keeps your range of movement and flexibility in your foot.

Try insoles and see if they work for you - they made it worse for me but everyone is different as I said. Try wearing a supportive bandage too. My arches are very sensitive at the moment so I've found just wearing my trainers only the most helpful.

I am due to start 12 hour shifts on Monday so I need all the luck in the world to get me through. I hope you're feeling better soon!

Original poster

MillieMooBee · 31/12/2020 19:34

@somewhereovertheraincloud

I've had this. The pain lasted for months and in the end they gave me a surgical boot to wear to completely immobilise the area for 6 weeks. It worked perfectly. As soon as it was off I had insoles made that kept my feet in the correct position (although mine was a tendon in my arch) My friend had tendinitis in her Achilles' tendon and also ended up wearing a surgical boot for 6 weeks in order to completely rest and heal.

Thanks for relying . Who made the decision to immobilise it? GP or was it through a physio/podiatrist?

OP posts:

Original poster

MillieMooBee · 31/12/2020 19:47

@FullofSurprises

I have this right now from twisting my ankle back in august. Have done all sorts to it, wore a splint, wore a walking boot, wore insoles, spent a fortune on different shoes, I've done all the physio in the world, but what I will tell you is that everyone's foot is different and for me personally insoles made it 10x worse. I am now in a pair of Nike Free TR8 and it has gotten the pain down to a point that I can walk fairly well on it. I also had acupuncture and found that helped dramatically with the pain. I recommend seeing a podiatrist and having ultrasound treatment and some massage done to the area, it keeps your range of movement and flexibility in your foot.

I am due to start 12 hour shifts on Monday so I need all the luck in the world to get me through. I hope you're feeling better soon!

Thank you for replying. When I first got the pain I went to a podiatrist who did ultrasound therapy. It worked really well. So well that I bought an ultrasound wand myself. Have used it a few times at home and tbh it seems to be making it worse!!

I am beginning to wonder if completely immobilising it will be the only option left.

OP posts:

FullofSurprises · 31/12/2020 20:02

Ultrasound treatment means you are creating micro trauma in the soft tissue, it will feel worse initially until the area heals. Don't use it every night. Every few days is sufficient. You need to find the right pair of shoes that work for you, for me it's being quite flat footed, anything with too much of a heel moves my pain up into my shins and then it's like shin splints.
Get a foam roller off Amazon and roll the back of your calves every morning, that will take any tightness away. Other than that it is a case of resting it but finding a balance by using it in a way that doesn't cause too much strain or damage.

somewhereovertheraincloud · 31/12/2020 20:27

I went private so was my consultant, friend was nhs and it was her physio.

Movement05 · 31/12/2020 20:40

I had tendonitis, and I am here to warn you to be very careful about what you do exercise-wise, otherwise you could end up with a ruptured Achilles tendon, as I did (despite plenty of support from the NHS by way of podiatrist who fitted NHS orthotics and steroid injection).

I also had a re-visit of the tendonitis this summer, two years following the rupture. But this time, I was very proactive in researching what I could do to alleviate it and within six weeks made a good recovery.

Here's what I did: I found a really good private podiatrist, who fitted me an excellent pair of custom-made orthotics (not cheap, but far longer lasting than the flimsy orthotics that the NHS use). I also looked at quite a few youtube videos about exercise for tendonitis. Although you have to be careful with what you see online, one really helpful piece of advice about the stretches was to first identify exactly where I was experiencing the pain and swelling. If it is surrounding the heel, then the advice was only to stretch up on my toes, and not to stand on a step and extend my heels downwards. Apparently this stretch is for people whose tendonitis is further up towards their calf.

I also did other stretches recommended for tendonitis. My podiatrist told me it would take about six weeks to feel the benefit of the orthotics, and he was right. Coming up to a month, there was still no real improvement, but after six weeks there was.

Movement05 · 31/12/2020 20:46

I forgot to mention that I could have taken up low level laser therapy with the podiatrist, which apparently is gentler than ultrasound. He said it was very appropriate for tendonitis and also cheaper than ultrasound. The number of sessions a patient needs is usually relative to the length of time they have been experiencing pain.

FullofSurprises · 31/12/2020 21:18

Having a cortisone shot increases your chance of rupture.
It very much depends on the type of tendonitis OP has. They may not have Achilles tendonitis. They need to whatever works for their type of foot anatomy and injury.

Original poster

MillieMooBee · 01/01/2021 13:57

I have peroneal tendonitis. Yesterday was terrible. Pain was excruciating! Woken up today and it's much better - almost normal.

OP posts:

FullofSurprises · 01/01/2021 14:14

Go easy on it. It will have different days of severity and it tricks you into thinking you can start skipping on it again.
Don't do too much on it, but be conscious of keeping it mobile at the same time so you keep range of movement.
Have a look at acupuncture, my podiatrist does it, see if yours does.

goose1964 · 01/01/2021 21:08

I've had tendonitis several times, the best painkiller for me was dioclefenac,it used to be prescription only but it's now OTC

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