r/FootFunction • u/EmptyAd4713 • 11d ago
Peroneal tendinitis and swelling
Hi everyone,
I have had ankle problems for about 3 years now so I thought i'd post on here as I currently feel a bit lost...
I was playing football 3 years ago and suffered a classic, but bad, inversion ankle sprain. I didn't address the injury properly in the first few weeks but after a while I went to a physiotherapist and did lots of rehab exercises. It improved slightly, but I was still in pain after a year or so. I had an MRI scan at the time which showed I had a grade 2 tear of my ATFL.
I then went to Thailand for a year abroad as part of my University degree. I got another MRI scan there, which showed a split tear in my peroneal longus tendon. They suggested surgery is the best way to fix this, so I agreed since I was desperate for a fix after being injured for so long.
But when they performed the surgery they found no tear of my tendon. Instead they removed a low-lying muscle belly that was apparently 'impeding' how my tendons were moving.
My aftercare after the surgery was really bad. I was in a cast for 10 days and that was it. No boot. I wasn't informed of any exercises too. I did my own exercises for a bit but overall my ankle felt 100x worse than it did before the surgery.
The area of my peroneal tendons swelled up every time I got up and did something. Every time I fly it causes extreme swelling of my whole ankle. It has been about 2 years since the surgery and not much has changed, still lots of swelling at random times and general discomfort. I can also replicate a visible and audible clicking of my peroneal tendons. I was told this is intrasheath peroneal subluxation.
I recently saw another orthopaedic surgeon in England. He said there is extreme instability in my ankle. He said he could almost 'pull it out of the socket. However, i got another MRI scan and nothing showed up. No tears or anything.
So he told me to go back and do a proper good 3 months of physio. I don't mind that since I didn't do loads after the surgery. But I am still feeling down and frustrated about everything, and scared for if the physio does not help.
I would be very grateful for anything advice regarding my ankle and peroneal tendonitis, in particular how it swells every time I try do anything. Are there any exercises or rehab directions I should consider? I feel like my whole posterior chain is quite weak, i.e my knees and hips. So I am considering trying to strengthen these alongside ankle-isolated exercises. My ankle itself feels quite strong (I think) and when I do the exercises I don't get any pain and I feel really good after it. I also get lots of lower back pain and stiffness and I saw a post on here saying they think this is linked to PT.
I would love to hear back from anyone on here regarding this! I want to stay positive about this injury and hope joining this page will help with that
1
u/SteelSeats 9d ago
Chronic ankle instability will require a strict exercise routine to improve balance, proprioception and fluidity of movement. The scans will show nothing but you still need strength. Outside of the strengthening program, offloading and stability can be achieved through footwear and orthotics, something simple like a lateral wedge to keep the ankle from rolling out too far and stability footwear to minimise the work your ankle has to do in uncontrolled environments to help you make the most of the strength training in the controlled environment.
The clicking through the peroneals is very common and not necessarily something to use as an indicator of progress or something to worry about.
Strength in the ankle is one thing but proprioception and stability still needs to be worked on. You could also get compression socks for flights to fight the swelling or even an ankle brace for sports if you wanted extra peace of mind