Been plagued lately with foot spring ligament/ PT tendon pain. Really hurts on medial side of foot just above arch. Doc says MRI shows some damage, possible from wear and tear over the years. I've been sailing in foot straps for 38 years--so probably lots of foot and ankle tweaks, plus years of other sports and farm work.

Anyone dealt with this area of the foot? I've been trying to immobilize in a boot/brace/tape job when possible to calm it down. Doc says surgery may be best option in long run. I'm hoping to avoid with conservative issues first. He also says he would avoid windsurfing for a while. WHAT???? Maybe I'll go strapless on a foil for a while.

Thanks

Duct tape? It worked for my ankle and knee.

my 2 bobs of advice...if your having ligament/ tendon issues now , stop rest for a while before it's too late !!!

I'm out of action for quite some time because i didn't ...years of WS, KS, SUP, Gym, Boxing, Tennis , computer use, and ignoring the 'niggles' has taken it's toll...I'm looking at 6 months at best ...12 months at worse, 6 weeks down currently

that pain and micro damage shown in your MRI are possibly micro tears,, eventually you get enough micro tears and then Boom!
Bit like a down/out haul rope staring to lose threads , keeps hanging on then it lets go ..
with the niggles , you get enough rest in between sessions for it to go away, then the next week you do it again, and repeat the process...each time it's a little tear on your rope/tendon/ligament ... my regular routine just simply didn't allow enough rest.

net result extender tendon torn + 50% and also radial ligament .

PRP*/ Shockwave is good before the major tear and to treat the micro's ...not after..too late by this stage, my research is that *PRP, jury is still 50/50, plenty will argue that by infact putting a needle directly into the tendon/ligament you are actually causing more damage to the ligament itself which is already starting to tear.... if there is swelling in the area you already have extra blood flow going to the spot to help speed up recovery , there are medical arguments for and against, they seem to fence sitting on it ...Shock wave seems most are all for , but needs to be started now before its too late.

In my case it's a Right arm...so Tennis and Computer time massive drivers of the constant use , no rest, as left is fine,
doing everything i can for a natural recovery and avoiding surgery, My tennis career might be sacrificed to support water sports...tennis as it turns out is not great for windsurfers , it really puts a lot of load (decent tennis hard hitting lots of top spin) on the same bits up that you use windsurfing ....in my case my tennis days often followed a weekend of windsurfing when i should of allowed down/rest recovery time...

Not sure what loads you have planned for your ankle area, but its worth looking at your normal routine and working how/if/where you back some load off, the one common thing that came out of my leanings ....the recovery for ligaments and tendons is ' rest' its pretty hard to speed it up, and once the damage is done, its done....big difference to muscle injuries.

I'm no expert just repeating what I have learnt in the last 6 weeks from my experience talking to many experts and lots of reading, get a good physio/oesteo on your team.

hindsight is a freaking beautiful thing :(

marc5 said..
Been plagued lately with foot spring ligament/ PT tendon pain. Really hurts on medial side of foot just above arch. Doc says MRI shows some damage, possible from wear and tear over the years. I've been sailing in foot straps for 38 years--so probably lots of foot and ankle tweaks, plus years of other sports and farm work.

Anyone dealt with this area of the foot? I've been trying to immobilize in a boot/brace/tape job when possible to calm it down. Doc says surgery may be best option in long run. I'm hoping to avoid with conservative issues first. He also says he would avoid windsurfing for a while. WHAT???? Maybe I'll go strapless on a foil for a while.

Thanks

I have had success with shockwave therapy for tendonitis in the elbow. I understand it was originally used for plantar faciitis, which is the tendon under your injury.
Go to a physio that specializes in that. Often the tendon injuries are due to flexibility issues elsewhere (calves in the case of PF). in my experience the physios look at things differently to what a doctor does, it helps to have multiple points of view.

Good luck, hope it gets better soon.

marc5 said..
Been plagued lately with foot spring ligament/ PT tendon pain. Really hurts on medial side of foot just above arch. Doc says MRI shows some damage, possible from wear and tear over the years. I've been sailing in foot straps for 38 years--so probably lots of foot and ankle tweaks, plus years of other sports and farm work.

Anyone dealt with this area of the foot? I've been trying to immobilize in a boot/brace/tape job when possible to calm it down. Doc says surgery may be best option in long run. I'm hoping to avoid with conservative issues first. He also says he would avoid windsurfing for a while. WHAT???? Maybe I'll go strapless on a foil for a while.

Thanks

The joys of growing old
A few years ago I was playing tennis (I play twice a week) and one night after the match my right ankle was swollen and hurting a little as if I had rolled it(but definitely didn't)
Didn't think much of it and was asked to fill in for someone at tennis a couple of nights later.
I did and shouldn't have.
My ankle swelled more and became more painful. I knew it wasn't plantar fasciites as I had that before in my other leg.
So I googled the **** out of it and found out I had PTTD (Posterior tibial tendon dysfunction)
Injuries like this just need time to heal really. I stopped playing tennis for a year but back into it now.
The problem with injuries on extremities of the body is they take sooooo long to heal because of limited bloodflow.
Buy yourself a cheap tens machine on Ebay and use that every night for a few cycles.
Good luck with the healing process

Two treatments that have helped me are:

1) Plantar Fascia massage to release muscle knots/trigger points - use a golf ball
2) Heel/Calf Raises on a step to strengthen ankle muscles