POSTERIOR TIBIAL TENDON INJURY

The job of the Posterior Tibial Tendon is that it helps to hold up the arch of the foot. A foot has an arch because it is built to flex a small amount and to dull the impact we put on our feet when walking and running. So - you can imagine how much force this one tendon needs to use to prevent the arch from collapsing completely every time we step down. There are two types of injuries that occur to the posterior tibial tendon - acute tears and chronic overuse injury.

In the picture you can see , marked in yellow the anatomical position of the posterior tibial tendon. It is located on the inside of the ankle. The tendon is connected to a strong muscle that is located up the leg in the calf area. It is attached to a bunch of smaller bones in the foot (navicular and cuneiforms). In most people the tendon is about 5mm to 7mm thick ( depends mostly on size of foot) There are other tendons in this area as well specifically the flexor digitorum longus and flexor hallucis longus.