What Are The Symptoms of Foot Tendinitis?

Dorsal pain (on top of the foot) around the midpoint of the foot is the primary symptom of tendinitis. Since the individual feet are so intricate and operate on their own, we usually see this condition in a single foot, not both at once.

As the condition worsens, you may experience the following:

Weakened tendons
Pain that weakens your ability to perform your usual activities
Pain when running or even standing for a long period of time
Stiffness, numbness, or tingling.

How do you treat tendinitis in the foot?

Rest is a key element of treating tendonitis of the foot. So be prepared to take a break if you have this condition.

Don't worry— we can start treatment at home. When treating Tendinitis of the Foot, we can rely on some of our old standbys.

First of all, we can scale back and limit our activities and rest the foot. Taking away the everyday impact upon the foot can give it time to heal.
Secondly, using heat or ice can stop the pain and help to reduce swelling.
Thirdly, we can use anti-inflammatories as another way to limit pain and swelling.

How long does it take for tendinitis in the foot to heal?

Foot tendinitis heals (usually) within 2-4 weeks. If the tendinitis is chronic, it may take longer. Especially if the condition isn't given proper rest, the healing can take up to a couple of months.

What happens if tendinitis goes untreated?

If you don't give the foot proper rest, it can turn into a chronic condition. This can become a real problem, leading to:

Weakened tendons
Tendon ruptures
Permanent tissue damage

Is tendinitis serious?

Tendinitis isn't fun by itself. However, the real risk is that it becomes something worse. If you leave it untreated and continue to engage in your usual activities, you increase your risk for:

Tendon rupture. If you rupture a tendon, there is a good chance it requires surgery
Tendinosis

Let's cover that right now:

tendinosis

What is the difference between tendinitis and tendinosis?

The main difference between tendinosis and tendonitis is time.

Tendinosis is a chronic (persistent or recurring) condition caused by repetitive trauma or an injury that hasn't healed.

By contrast, tendinitis (which we just covered) is an acute (sudden, short-term) condition in which inflammation is caused by a direct injury to a tendon.

What are the Symptoms of Tendinosis?

Symptoms of tendinosis will certainly show themselves if you have them. If you have any of these chronic symptoms, make sure to contact a specialist:

Swelling in the tendon that prohibits or impairs you from moving effectively.
Pain in the affected area. This pain may be intense.
Weakness in the area of the tendon.
Stiffness in/around the joint.

How long is Tendinosis Recovery?

Even if we get to the stage where tendinitis becomes tendinosis, surgery may still be avoided. The key, at this point, is to rest and let the condition heal!

Here are the steps you can take to help yourself heal:

Take a break from your usual activities
Rest!
Using support like a bandage or brace to support the affected area
Get help from a physiotherapist
Use ice on the affected area to provide relief and discourage blood vessels from forming around the tendon
Use anti-inflammatories

Surgery for Tendinosis— Do I Need It?

If you have one of these conditions, come and visit me. Or visit your local foot and ankle specialist. With tendonitis and tendinosis, we want to get to the root of the problem immediately to make sure we aren't dealing with anything out of the ordinary.

Then, hopefully, we can get you on a path to full healing— and back to doing what you love.

Good luck!

How Do We Treat Tendinitis and Tendinosis of the Foot?