How to Prevent Tendonitis

Muscles are part of the glue that holds your body together and allows for many types of basic movement, such as lifting, sitting, flexing, and supporting your body weight. Skeletal muscles in particular are very important for movement, and they are connected to your bone by ligaments and tendons, musculoskeletal tissue that can be found throughout your body. Connective tissue like tendons are sadly prone to injury, leading to conditions like tendonitis, which can happen in many joints of the body but is very common in your feet.

There are several types of foot tendonitis that can inhibit movement and make it harder to walk, but there are ways to prevent dealing with it. To better understand how to avoid food tendonitis, let’s examine what it is, its causes and symptoms, and what steps you can take to keep it from affecting your feet. If you live in the Fort Worth or Weatherford, Texas, area and you’re struggling with foot tendonitis or other foot problems, Drs. Gary Driver, Glen Beede, Gregory Jaryga and their team of medical professionals at Trinity Foot & Ankle Specialists can help you feel better.

Understanding foot tendonitis

Tendons are strong bands of tissue that help connect muscle to bone, functioning as levers when your muscles contract and expand. They are in fact stronger and stiffer than your muscles, with some being able to manage over eight times your body weight. There are a lot of tendons in your feet to help them function properly, but the one often suffering from tendonitis include: 

• Achilles tendon: this connects the calf muscle to your heel bone and is the strongest tendon in your body, helping us run, jump, and walk

• Extensors: this runs along the top of your feet and attaches the bones in front of your legs to your toes

• Peroneal tendon: the two tendons that run along the outside of your ankle that holds up the arches of your feet

• Posterior tibial tendon: this connects calf muscles to the outside bones of your feet that also help hold up your arches

• Plantar tendon: actually a ligament that runs along the underside of your heel, it can produce pains very similar to tendonitis

Tendonitis is something that is more common amongst people who engage in intense exercise or play sports, but anyone can find themselves struggling with a form of this condition. The most common type is Achilles tendonitis, which affects up to 9% of athletes.

Symptoms and causes

Tendonitis is often the result of overuse, where repeating the same motions lead to irritation of the tissue. This can range from actions you do all the time at work, home, while exercising, or during sorts. Poor movement during activities can also lead to this problem, and the chances increase with age. Overstretching the tendon can also cause tendonitis, which if it’s severe enough can also lead to a rupture.

The signs of this musculoskeletal irritation are largely the same in the foot as they are throughout the body, like dull aches, warmth, tenderness, redness, tightness that affects mobility, and swelling, with bone spurs being a sign unique to feet.

Methods of prevention

Some important tips on how to avoid any of the types of foot tendonitis:

Stretches and exercises

Before and after you’ve engaged in sports or other intense physical activity, exercise and foot and ankle stretches can help to treat and prevent foot injuries that affect musculoskeletal tissue.

If you’re in pain, stop

Don’t overwork your ankles, and if you are in pain, don’t push yourself and risk making the condition worse.

Rest your ankles

Getting rest between workouts and after sports can allow them to heal faster and keep you from overworking them.

Proper technique

Moving improperly when walking, running, or performing any tasks on your feet can increase the risk of injury, so try these techniques to prevent getting hurt.

Supportive footwear

Shoes that are too tight or ill fitting can hurt your feet and lead to injury, so wear supportive shoes that fit your feet and give yourself time to adjust to new shoes before going full tilt.

If you’re upright, you’re going to be using your feet so take care of them, and they’ll take care of you. If you’re having problems with tendonitis or other conditions in your feet, contact Drs. Driver, Beede, and Jaryga at Trinity Foot & Ankle Specialists today for treatment.