Today on the Doc On The Run Podcast we’re talking about peroneus longus tendonitis, and what runners can do about it.

Whenever I do consultations for runners who have peroneal tendinitis, they seem to be confused. Even though many of them have already been seen by an emergency room physician or their primary care doctor, they seem to be really unclear about what exactly is going on in their foot and ankle. If you aren’t clear on what is wrong, it’s hard to be clear on what you need to do to heal, and run without further injuring the tendon.

Part of the confusion lies in the fact that there are two different tendons (the peroneus brevis and the peroneus longus) which both run down the side of the leg and then attach to your foot. But they attach to your foot in different locations and they both do different things. Because they have different functions, they can become injured in different ways.

If you want to get back to running as quickly as possible it’s extremely important to figure out exactly which one of the two tendons is bothering you. Understanding which one is injured will give you a better chance of getting the tendon to heal faster, and get back to running sooner, without re-injury.