The Best Posterior Tibial Tendonitis Exercises

Posterior Tibial Tendonitis Dysfunction, or PTTD, is a common foot problem that can cause ongoing pain and fallen arches so you may want to know what the best orthotics to help posterior tibial tendonitis & exercises are to help ease your pain. This is a condition that is hard to treat without the right exercise and support. When you have been diagnosed with PTTD, you might be wondering how you are going to heal without having surgery.

Thankfully, there are some other options for the care of PTTD that do not involve painful and invasive surgery. You will find that most experts recommend the right exercise regimen and custom orthotics to help manage this painful condition. Custom orthotics can make a big difference in your treatment and management plan and can help you to avoid costly and painful surgery.

This condition can be quite painful, so you will need to evaluate your ability to do these exercises based on your level of pain each day. You might not be able to use these exercises more than once a day at first, and you should proceed gently as you get started using them to help manage your discomfort and loss of flexibility.

You will not need any special equipment to do these exercises, and you can practice them almost anywhere. These exercises are carefully selected to prevent pressure from being placed on the bottom of your foot. You will want to avoid any kind of stretching that puts your body weight onto the soles of your feet, as this can stretch out your injured tendon too much.

Calf Stretch at the Wall

• • To do this exercise, you will need to stand with your hands on the wall at eye level. You will put one foot behind the other. Keep your back leg straight and your back heel down on the floor, then bend your front knee and gently shift your hip and chest forward toward the wall.
    You will feel the stretch in the calf of the leg that is farther back. Hold the stretch for about 15 to 20 seconds and then release. Switch feet and repeat. You should aim to do this exercise 2 to 4 times each session.

Bent Knee Stretch

• • You will still need the support of the wall for this stretch. Face the wall again and put your hands at eye level once more. You will want to put one leg behind the other again. Keep both heels on the floor and bend both of your knees. You will then bring your hip and your chest toward the wall slightly until you feel a stretch in the calf of your back leg.
  • This is a slightly deeper stretch than the first one, so move slowly. Hold for 15 to 20 seconds and then switch feet. You should repeat this stretch 2 to 4 times per session.

Shin Stretch

• • Sit on a chair with both of your feet flat. You will bend one leg and place the top of the toes against the floor, pointed toward the back of the chair. You can hold onto the sides of the chair for support if needed. Press your toes gently against the floor and hold for 15 to 30 seconds. You will feel the stretch at the front of your leg along the shin bone.
  • Switch to the other side and repeat. You can do this exercise 2 to 4 times as well. Make sure that you are not putting too much pressure on your knees as you move through the motions of this exercise.

Hamstring Stretch

• • For this exercise, you will need to lie down on your back in a doorway. Put one foot through the door and the other foot up against the wall. Straighten both of your knees. You will feel the stretch down the back of your leg right away. Start out holding this part of the stretch for about a minute.
  • You can repeat this process on both sides, extending the stretch slowly to be longer each time. Be gentle with this stretch, as you can cause cramps if you push your leg too straight too fast or if you are too close to the doorway when your leg is up to rest against the wall. Aim to do this exercise 2 to 4 times.

Custom orthotics are very helpful for a whole variety of foot conditions and problems with gait. PTTD is very hard to treat without the use of custom orthotics to place the foot and ankle in the right position. Placing the foot and the ankle in the right alignment allows the tendon that has been damaged to relax and heal.

The position of your foot when standing or ambulating is critical for healing your PTTD. The reason that this condition is so hard to treat is often that the natural position of the foot has been altered by the damage to the tendon. Without correct realignment of the foot, there cannot be healing.

Gait Support

• • While early stages of PTTD might not impact gait directly, later stages of the condition can be connected with fallen arches and other problems that can lead to overpronation of the foot during each stride. In some cases, the tendon is so relaxed that supination occurs, which can cause further damage to the outside of the ankle and put pressure on the knees and back.
  • Custom orthotics prevent incorrect foot flight paths and allow feet to distribute weight correctly during each step. A custom orthotic is also made to protect the arch of the foot from being pressed down too much. Ambulating correctly is a critical part of managing PTTD recovery, and custom orthotics can solve all kinds of gait issues to help alleviate pain and make healing possible.

Heel Support

• • People who are suffering from PTTD often have fallen arches or suffer from instability in the foot. This can lead to the breakdown of the soft tissue in the heels as well as damage to the ball of the foot. Foot strike pain can also lead to a back injury.
  • Custom orthotics are made to cradle the heel and protect it from harsh impact with the ground. Instability in the feet can lead to a lot of soft tissue and bone tissue damage that is prevented with correct support inside your shoes. When you select custom orthotics for your heel support needs, you will be able to prevent bone bruises and instability in your ankles and feet.

Remove Pressure From the Sole

• • Even if you do not have fallen arches, the instability in your feet due to your PTTD can lead to secondary issues like Plantar Fasciitis. When you have custom orthotics made for your PTTD treatment, your feet will be able to spread correctly during each stride. This will prevent the soft tissue inflammation along the bottom of the foot that is connected with Plantar Fasciitis.
  • Orthotics that are made just for your feet will make it possible to take a balanced stride that does not pinch, twist, or press on any part of the sole of your foot. Even if you are not noticing foot pain in other parts of your feet due to your PTTD, your feet are likely to be exposed to stresses that will eventually lead to discomfort or injury.
  • Being able to get ahead of damage to the soles of your feet is critical and custom orthotics can take care of this need while also supporting your ankles and stabilizing your foot.

Provide Correct Arch Support

• • The arch in your foot is the spring that allows your foot to flex and take on weight during each step. This is an important part of the foot that is neglected all too often. Many shoes do not offer the right support for your arches, and you might have ended up with your PTTD because of a lack of arch support in the shoes that you were wearing.

Custom orthotics will be made to match your arches perfectly. This kind of support ensures correct pressure on your feet during each stride, but it also ensures that your arches will not break down over time. Whether you have very high or very low arches, you need to have the correct arch support for your needs.

Shoes that are made to fit many people will be unlikely to give your feet the support that is needed on a daily basis. Even standing comfortably requires that you have the right arch supports in your shoes. Custom orthotics can help treat your PTTD, but they can also make it possible to prevent further damage to the soles of your foot.

Orthotics are really easy to take care of. You will just need to be sure that you do not allow them to be stored wet and that you do not try to force them into shoes that they do not fit into. Orthotics are made to be used with closed-toe shoes. You will not be able to wear them with heels or with sandals.
If you do get your orthotics wet, you will need to remove them from your shoes and allow them to dry out before storing them or slipping them back into your shoes.

Orthotics that are wet for extended periods of time might warp. You will also want to be sure that you do not wear your orthotics with pebbles or other hard items in the shoe. This could press a dent into your orthotic that will not come out.

The other thing that you need to be aware of is that your orthotics must be used with shoes that fit properly. If you try to force your orthotics into shoes that are too small or try to use them with shoes that are too big for your feet, the orthotics might be bent or might not stay in place. If you are not sure what your actual foot size is, you will need to get measured by a professional. You can usually get measured with ease at a shoe store that sells running shoes or a custom shoemaker.

These measurements will help you to get the right pair of closed-toe shoes with laces for your orthotics to be used correctly. You might have ended up with PTTD in part because you were forcing your feet into shoes that were not the right size for your needs.