Peroneal Tendonitis/Tendon Subluxation?

Hey everyone! My boyfriend found this thread when I was first diagnosed with peroneal tendon subluxation. It's been a good resource for me since so I figured I'd add my story to the mix.

July 20th: Felt something happen to the outside of my right ankle while doing a deadpoint move to the right. My foot was on a large foothold, but the hold was high and it was angled awkwardly. It was almost better as a heel hook, which I actually used on the tries before this one but didn't find as reliable. I limped off of the route, and then did hot & cold therapy on it for a couple of days. The area was pretty red and blue for a while, but then this went away over the next few days. I stayed off of the foot, but I was actually able to walk somewhat normally a few days after. At this point, I noticed something was weird on my ankle bone (it was a bit soft and lumpy), but I didn't think much of it and thought it was just swelling.
July 22th: Went to Kaiser Urgent Care and was told it's probably just a sprain. I was told to use the boot and use my own judgment about when I can start walking normally again. Days after this, I actually toproped! I used the boot on and off for a few days, until I started feeling this painful popping around my ankle bone whenever I'd twist or turn. I started googling and had a hunch that I had peroneal tendon subluxation (with my peroneal brevis). I even woke up one morning with pain around the end of my 5th metatarsal, right where the brevis ends.
August 7th: Visited a podiatrist who was able to replicate my subluxation by moving my foot around and she put me in touch with a surgeon. The next day, I spoke to the surgeon over the phone who said that surgery was the best course of action for this condition, and recommended I get an MRI.
August 9th: Got an MRI and saw how effed up my tendon was. It was completely out of place (over the bone), with my retinaculum completely torn and somewhere it wasn't supposed to be. I also had lots of white scar tissue everywhere.
August 12th: With my MRI images on-hand, I visited the surgeon who told me more about the procedure and scheduled me for surgery on August 28th. Sidenote: He saw that my left foot was also subluxing a bit and recommended I get that fixed eventually. I guess I'm just prone to subluxation!

In the meantime, I found this thread while deciding whether to try a non-surgical approach. I actually also met with a chiropractor, who gave me some hope. However, after reading this thread and other articles, I felt like surgery was the best course of action to get the best long-term results. I also had the time and space to go through surgery and recovery over the next 1-5 months.

August 28th: Had the surgery to repair my retinaculum and place my peroneal brevis back in place. They also deepened the groove behind the bone to avoid subluxation in the future. Everything went well. I went home with a soft cast, and only felt a couple of days of pain. It was pretty manageable though.  
Sept 6th (+ 8 days after): Had the soft cast removed and a hard cast put on. I would go back twice to get the cast replaced because 1) my heel was experiencing pain and then 2) it was getting too loose, likely from using the knee scooter so much. I went back to work remotely ~2.5 weeks after surgery.
Oct 11th (+6 weeks after): Had the hard cast removed! Back in a walking boot. I was using 2 crutches and partially bearing weight. I could probably do ~50% by 3 days after. I was diligent with my flexibility exercises, doing them ~3 times a day everyday.
Oct 18th (+7 weeks after): I went on a trip to Yosemite to watch my friends climb, during which I wobbled around with 1 crutch and the walking boot. By this time I could put basically all my weight on my foot, but it hurt after a short while.
October 24th: I had my first official PT appointment. Since then, I've been diligent about these new exercises, which include more strengthening. I was advised to walk normally as much as possible depending on how I feel.
Oct 31st (+ 8 weeks after): I'm in Cancun for work and I'm actually able to walk without any crutches, or even the boot, or even a brace. I don't like the cloth brace because I feel stiff and uncomfortable. I sometimes wear my boot when I think I'll be walking around for a while. (I brought a crutch just in case because of the long walks sometimes required at airports. United also helped me out with wheelchair service on both my flights.)

NOTE: This recovery is all on schedule with many of the other stories on this thread. Thank you all for setting my expectations! I'm here to +1 everything and say that as long as you're diligent with PT, recovery will be nice and quick.

Right now, I'm really happy where I'm at! Only 2 months after surgery, I feel like a normal person again. I also don't feel like I've gotten that much weaker, because I went to the gym ~3 times a week to do whatever workouts I could (upper body, core, finger strength and some foot-on / light campus boarding). If anything, I feel stronger. I think I'll be toproping soon, so everything's looking great!

Edit: 5 months post-surgery and I'm back to my limit bouldering. Still not jumping off from *too* high but can fall off of most boulders just fine. :) 

Hey all. Thought I'd post my experience since I've found this thread helpful. Initially I hurt my foot in two stages. A large rock rolled onto my foot when I was walking on a boulder field barefoot, leaving some large cuts on my ankle and heel. I was glad to not have been injured worse. 3 weeks later, the day before going to France, I took a minor fall bouldering and landed with my ankle slightly twisted. I was surprised to feel like I'd sprained my ankle. I tried to walk to the river to put it in cold water but felt a popping sensation so sat down. After half an hour the pain had all but gone and there was no swelling. Having had bad sprains in the past I decided it wasn't that bad and didn't go to hospital. Drove 30 hours from north wales to the south of france with no problems. After a few days it wasn't any better, though still no pain and little swelling, and I realised I could move my peroneal tendons over the malleolus with my finger. I did some research and decided it was likely a subluxation.

Went to the emergency ward in France 6 days after injury. Ultrasound confirmed a grade 2 subluxation with no bone damage. I emphasised that I have a very active lifestyle (I work rope access, as well as climbing, running, mountian biking etc) and given my research it seemed that surgery was definitely the way to go. Miraculously, I was offered surgery the following day, as the surgeon was concerned that a longer wait would impact my recovery. So I had surgery 7 days from injury. It went well and my retinaculum was reattached to the malleolous with 3 anchors. I received no groove deepening. I was kept in hospital for two days as they wanted to check that the incision was healing well, as they had to excavate some dead skin from next to the incision site, which was left by the rock which fell on my foot. This scar was directly above the retinaculum which leads me to think the rock weakened it. Which is also perhaps why there was no audible pop when I fell bouldering. After two days I was put in a hard cast and told not to weight bare for 6 weeks.

The first two weeks were pretty uncomfortable and I had trouble sleeping. I had to elevate my foot constantly. The third week things took a turn for the better, and I was able to do some hang boarding and stretching and move around more. At 4 weeks I had a check up in the hospital at home and had the cast removed, was put in a walking boot, and told to weight bare. Gradual loading made quick progress and by week 5 I was walking well in the boot and starting to be able to roll onto my toes barefoot. At 6 weeks I had my first physio appointment and was told to start pushing it a lot more, even do some light climbing.

At week 7 I walked about 3 miles in the hills near my house. It was a little sore and very swollen afterwards, but every walk makes it better. Especially walking on soft grass which forces the ankle to do lots of stabilisation. It hurts in a good way. I am now at week 8 and am walking very well barefoot. I can almost jog on the spot. I have been climbing once in some TC Pros for the ankle support, and whilst it was quite scary I was able to weight it a little on large foot holds. Though my foot is still too swollen to wear tight shoes. I feel like it has gone very well. I have no pain except when stretching, I feel strong, and expect to make a full recovery.

I feel like it has gone better than expected, certainly better than some other have reported on here. Why? It's hard to say, and certainly I was lucky not to get any nerve damage, which does seem common with this surgery. And it definitely helped that I have very strong ankles from years of trad climbing, winter climbing, and running. But beyond that I feel that several things contributed to my fast recovery so far. Firstly I received surgery within 7 days of injury, which can only be a good thing. Secondly, since week 3 I've been hang boarding, doing shoulder and fore arm condition exercises, and basically being as active as possible. Encouraging an active state of recovery through training, and eating a lot of protein, will have had helped my ankle to recover. Since week 6 I've done some careful deadlifting, which will strengthen my withered leg, and compound exercises such as deadlifting trigger a hormonal response which encourages further recovery throughout the body. Finally, I've done the exercises prescribed by the physio at every opportunity. Previous injuries have shown me how important this is.

It's possible that I'm being overly optimistic, but its looking good. My advice to anyone wondering whether or not to have surgery would be to do it at the first opportunity. And do everything you can to recover. Training as soon as possible not only helped my ankle but helped me to reframe this injury as an opportunity to get stronger, which helped my mental state massively. I'll be sure to update in a few months and let you know how it pans out.

Best of luck
Ben

I ended up getting stem cell injections after years of different PTs with no results.  Within three months I was good and that’s now been 18 months pain free.  The injections also reversed the arthritis in that elbow as well. 

Hi all,
I tore my retinaculum on May 31st of this year, I had surgery on June 9th so I'm about 5 weeks out from surgery now. I'm in a walking boot and everything seems to be going well! Mobility is coming back and I have very little pain. I had my first PT appointment today and the PT told me that it would be about 6 months before climbing again. This seems like an absurdly long time based upon reading other people's experiences and I'm frankly worried that I should find a new PT as I was hoping to be back for the fall season which would be between 12-15 weeks post surgery. Does anyone who's had the same operation have an insights?

Elliott Boardmanwrote: Hi all,
I tore my retinaculum on May 31st of this year, I had surgery on June 9th so I'm about 5 weeks out from surgery now. I'm in a walking boot and everything seems to be going well! Mobility is coming back and I have very little pain. I had my first PT appointment today and the PT told me that it would be about 6 months before climbing again. This seems like an absurdly long time based upon reading other people's experiences and I'm frankly worried that I should find a new PT as I was hoping to be back for the fall season which would be between 12-15 weeks post surgery. Does anyone who's had the same operation have an insights?

That timeline isn't absurd, though it's more like the upper limit. It depends on your comfort level. I did PT diligently everyday and it took me about ~3.5 months to start toproping again. It was 4 months until I started toproping at my limit. At 4 months, my ankle felt pretty strong but I was worried about falling on it, so I didn't boulder or lead climb at my limit until about 5 months in. Even at around 5 months I would avoid higher routes unless I knew I wouldn't fall from them.

I assumed you looked at the earlier posts in this thread (I had my timeline described in decent detail). I suspect that my ankle was ready well before my mind was. Here I am, 4-5 years later, and I consider it at about 95% of the original and I rarely even think about it. But, just today I was pressing at the crux of whatever when a tiny pain tickled my foot - my first instinct was to glare at my ankle with wide eyes thinking "DON'T YOU FUCK UP ON ME!" 

Point is, it's a mental journey, as well and physical one. Be happy with whatever you can do in 6 months.

I dislocated my peroneal tendon while making a big rockover / high step move a little over 6 weeks ago. At that time, surgery was recommended to me as the best option, but I didn't have health insurance, so the doctor sent me home to get that sorted before he would schedule a surgery. That process took a few weeks, and then another few weeks went by before I finally got a surgery consultation on the books. During that time, I was in a non weight-bearing boot. I had my pre- surgery consultation a week ago. They did an MRI and also told me to start walking around my house as normally as I could so that I could gain some flexibility back before surgery. In the last week, I've been surprised that my range of motion has been gradually improving, and my tendon hasn't dislocated at all in the process, despite feeling tight, and tender. But now I'm second-guessing my decision to have surgery. I originally felt confident that I was making the right choice based on what I learned about long-term success with non-surgical treatment. But now that I'm able to limp around my house without subluxation, surgery seems a little over the top. I only have three more days until I'm supposed to have surgery and I feel totally unsure as to weather this is the right choice. But I'm also afraid to postpone any longer, only to realize surgery is necessary later down the road. 

Did anyone else have short-term success as far as getting back on their feet without subluxation, before they chose to get surgery?  My surgeon has basically said I just have to make a gut choice, and since my financial coverage for the procedure is through the hospital, I can't even really get a second opinion. Any insight or encouragement would be helpful. 

Jane Kilgourwrote:

I dislocated my peroneal tendon while making a big rockover / high step move a little over 6 weeks ago. At that time, surgery was recommended to me as the best option, but I didn't have health insurance, so the doctor sent me home to get that sorted before he would schedule a surgery. That process took a few weeks, and then another few weeks went by before I finally got a surgery consultation on the books. During that time, I was in a non weight-bearing boot. I had my pre- surgery consultation a week ago. They did an MRI and also told me to start walking around my house as normally as I could so that I could gain some flexibility back before surgery. In the last week, I've been surprised that my range of motion has been gradually improving, and my tendon hasn't dislocated at all in the process, despite feeling tight, and tender. But now I'm second-guessing my decision to have surgery. I originally felt confident that I was making the right choice based on what I learned about long-term success with non-surgical treatment. But now that I'm able to limp around my house without subluxation, surgery seems a little over the top. I only have three more days until I'm supposed to have surgery and I feel totally unsure as to weather this is the right choice. But I'm also afraid to postpone any longer, only to realize surgery is necessary later down the road. 

Did anyone else have short-term success as far as getting back on their feet without subluxation, before they chose to get surgery?  My surgeon has basically said I just have to make a gut choice, and since my financial coverage for the procedure is through the hospital, I can't even really get a second opinion. Any insight or encouragement would be helpful. 

I could walk just fine as well prior to surgery, but every so often when I got in and our of a car (a slight rotation) my tendon would sublux. If I wanted to keep climbing and be physically active, I felt like I needed surgery. That’s not to say letting it heal without surgery is impossible, but I chose to lose 6 months and have certainty of healing, than spend months in rehab without a clear outcome.

Jane what did you end up deciding? I am currently in the EXACT same position as you - slight tear of my left SPR a few weeks ago, subluxation of my PT with weight on my foot, but 2 weeks post-injury it seems to be getting slightly better. Was supposed to have surgery yesterday but got postponed until next week due to COVID close contact. I was originally anti surgery until reading this thread. Now I’m completely torn between what’s potentially an overkill surgery with 100% success rate and rolling the dice naturally with a 25-50% success rate and potential complications in the future. Has anyone chosen to go the self-healing route with any success?

@Jane Kilgour "Did anyone else have short-term success as far as getting back on their feet without subluxation, before they chose to get surgery?  My surgeon has basically said I just have to make a gut choice, and since my financial coverage for the procedure is through the hospital, I can't even really get a second opinion. Any insight or encouragement would be helpful."

My fib/pero tendon snaps in and out the groove frequently.  I haven't had any surgery and am not advocating for or against it.  A combination of bracing and leukotaping has allowed me to return to work, running, and climbing.  The brace I am using at present is actually a beefy wrist wrap for weightlifting, as that is the only one I found which creates adequate localized pressure to prevent subluxation.  The taping technique involves starting on the lateral malleolus and pulling posteriorly and around the affected ankle.  I don't think this has helped it heal, but is has allowed me to resume normal activities and route climbing.  

Will continue to follow the thread.  Thanks to everyone who posted stories and advice.

I just found this interesting paper re: conservative treatment of PT subluxation. Obviously a low sample size and it’s more a summary of prior studies than a study in and of itself, but it does seem that a 6-week treatment with a non-weight bearing plaster cast is associated with positive outcomes (upwards of 83% success). I’m scheduled for surgery this coming Tuesday - I’m definitely reconsidering.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7021524/

My initial injury and eventual surgery were 10 years apart.  My tendon only popped out of place when I rolled my ankle.  At first this would happen about once a year and then more frequently over the years.  It would pop out and go right back.  I was usually back to normal and pain-free after a few days, EXCEPT the last time I dislocated it.  Eventually the tendon tore and my ankle didn't return to feeling stable. 

Should I have gotten surgery at the time of the initial injury? Seems like I didn't need it.  I probably should have been in a boot and definitely should have done better with strengthening and stability exercises after the injury.  

I ended up having my surgery last week. SPR repair and groove deepening procedure. 10 days out and I’m 100% pain free. Splint comes off Wednesday - will see where things go from there. Will update on progress.

Week 3 - Had check-in meeting with surgeon and got splint taken off. All looked good. Now in walking boot and “toe touching” (up to 25 lbs. of weight) on bad ankle with crutches. Had first PT session and did some light (up/down motion) strengthening exercises - only minor pain/swelling during/after. Hope to graduate to full range of motion exercises in next week or two. Lost a ton of muscle in calf of bad leg which I guess is standard, so will work on building that back up as well. Overall it feels great to have ankle out of splint and to be somewhat in control of my own recovery destiny. Surgeon said it’s a slow process but will be back to 100% by summer.

Week 5 - walking in boot with ~75% weight and no issues. Have now had 4 PT sessions, mostly focused on rebuilding muscle in ankle/foot. Still only up/down movements. Religiously doing PT-prescribed ankle exercises daily. Very minor ankle soreness post-exercise with some minor swelling/fluid in foot. Should graduate to full range of motion in coming weeks. At this point very happy with progress - feels ahead of schedule but fingers crossed. 

This page was extremely helpful to me so I thought I’d tell my story. Was bouldering at a gym and put all my weight on my heel and it locked into the hold. My hands slipped and felt/ heard a loud pop in my ankle. Headed back to my place and felt a clicking, my peroneal tendon rolling over my ankle. Searched on line and found this thread and knew it was Peroneal tendon subluxation. I saw that surgery was the main solution so I thought this was the road I’d take, but my doctor recommended a non-weight bearing cast so my foot wouldn’t move at all. He put my ankle in a very interesting angle after the first weight bearing cast attempt was unsuccessful. This article convinced me to go this path and without my doctors advice I would have went through surgery. Highly recommend considering non surgery option if this injury happens to you, I’m nearly 6 months out and feel  about 100%. Just mental barriers and slight stiffness

Injury date: February 17, 2022

Non weight bearing: March 10- April 21, 2022

Weight bearing: April 21- May 5th, 2022

Physical therapy: may 5th- June 14th

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7021524/

Seems, almost everyone here went the surgical route. I thought I'd share my experience doing the non-surgical option. I first tore my retinaculum with subsequent peroneal tendon subluxation about 5 years ago. I was doing a heavy rock over to the side when I heard a loud pop and felt something snapping inside my ankle. It would continue to sublux painfully for the next couple of days especially during sudden moves. Got an MRI and went to see an ortho foot and ankle specialist about 2 weeks after the injury and he told me to just rest it for a while. Was unsatisfied with the care I got, so I went to another ortho doctor who referred me to a rehab doctor who put me on walking boots for 8 weeks and rehab exercises for another couple weeks. The timeline gets hazy, but I remember it wasn't until the 4th month after the injury that I felt ok to start climbing again first on top rope, then eventually lead and boulder. My ankle never popped again for 5 years afterwards, and I continued climbing normally and felt no problem progressively climbing at my limit (though I could feel some sort of strain on the retinaculum area on hard rock over moves where my entire weight needs to shift over it). I taped during the first few months but ditched it after a while coz my ankle felt normal already. I live a pretty active life and overall, I would consider my experience a success.

....Fast forward to today, I popped my ankle again in a similar scenario and am back on boots. In hindsight, I was entirely at fault as I already felt that my body position was too awkward for the move I was intending but still went for it. Hoping the non surgical route will work again.

Hey All - Wanted to share an extremely positive story of taking the surgical route after suffering the injury that this thread is dedicated to. 

TLDR - get the surgery and come back stronger than ever within 12 weeks post op. Shout outs to Final Kick Foot and Ankle and Bloc PT. Selina Sekulic and Katy Scott are great. SLC residents, don't sleep on them. 

I found everything in this thread helpful when I initially had the injury and throughout my recovery process. Hoping this encourages others and makes them feel stoked as well. 

July 7 - Initial injury. Bouldering outdoors and smacked the outside of my right ankle falling less than 2 ft on nearly the first move of a boulder. Starting with right leg flagged, left foot on. Fell off, missed my pads, and my right ankle smacked a rock. Slight ouch. Nothing bad and definitely nothing worse than a skateboard smack to the shins. Left a slight mark and stung a bit. Kept climbing. 

Turns out that this smack was somehow directly at the site of my peroneal retinaculum. I bruised it or damaged it in someway. Maybe 10 minutes after the smack, I weighted my foot mid-route in a very typical dorsiflexion position. Snap. My ankle collapsed and I fell to the ground. It hurt quite bad and my peroneal tendon was popping out of place with even the slightest of movements. I hobbled to the car, got home, and started googling. It was apparent that this was the exact injury that I had suffered. 

July 7 - July 29 - Diagnosed with a Peroneal Retinaculum tear and pretty significant tear in the Peroneal Tendon itself. Saw 2 Orthos and 2 PTs. 3/4 suggested surgery. The 1 PT did not. I slept on it, got my CT Scan, and decided that surgery was the appropriate option.

My thought process here? If I am already an extremely mediocre sport climber that gets spooked on hard red-points, the last thing that I want to have to think about, in addition to all of the other factors that play into a send, is my dang ankle collapsing on me.

Let's talk about what happened during these 3 weeks pre-surgery.

Week 1 - Couldn't weight bare for 2 days. After that, my injury calmed down quick and I was able to walk within 5 days. The tendon would sublux (pop) 3 times or more in a 2 mile walk. Quite painful, but getting better. 

Week 2 - I tried to climb. Tendon subluxed with almost every move. A simple foot swap felt impossible. No other progress.

Week 3 - No progress beyond somewhat better walking. Every subluxation was painful. For perspective, I could hang my leg in front of me, shake it left to right (think dangling) and get the tendon to sublux with minimal effort. I could scrunch my toes hard, POP. I could move my ankle in an eversion motion, dorsiflex, and POP. It simply wasn't manageable. In my brain, It felt like there was no way that PT would fix such an easy subluxation. 

Mind you all, I am very fortunate to have insurance and HSA savings to fund such a procedure. Surgery took place on July 29 to repair the tears in the Peroneal Tendon and to repair and reattach the Peroneal Retinaculum. I did not need any groove deepening. My Ortho was strongly against the deepening.

July 29 - August 12 - Surgery was fast. Soft cast. Non weight bearing. My dad flew out to help - you will need help for the first 3 days. Gnarly pain for the first weekend. Pain subsided quick. I started scooting around with my dog ASAP and going to the gym to hangboard & lift upper body as early as the Monday following surgery (Aug 1). This continued through Aug 12. Everything was quite fine. Absolutely no weight bearing and the pain went away fast. 

August 12 - 17 - Soft cast/splint removed. Was given a boot. Ankle and foot hurt insanely bad the first night. No clue why, but it went away almost immediately after that. Still scooting 99%, BUT was cleared to weight bare briefly at home and standing still while in the boot. Showers became enjoyable again as I could stand in the shower, no boot.

August 17 - 26  - PLEASE FOLLOW YOUR DOCTORS ADVICE AND INTUITION APPROPRIATELY. No climbing. Here's where I made significant progress insanely quickly. I began weight bearing and walking around in the boot perfectly fine. I went to a concert at Red Rocks. Carried my scooter down into the stands. Walked around a small dog park with the boot. On Aug 22, I very carefully walked my dog without a boot for 2 miles. Everything was fine and I continued to walk without the boot after this day.

August 26 - September 12  - No climbing. Walking without the boot became easy. Everything non-rehab related became easy. I was instructed to not attempt to re-hab until 6 weeks post surgery and my first PT appointment was scheduled for Tuesday, Sept 13.

10 weeks post injury. 6 to 7 weeks Post-Op. Sept 13 - Started to climb. Here's what we all want to see. First PT appointment. Was given exercises to help work the Peroneal muscles and regain confidence in the ankle. Cleared to autobelay and top rope easy stuff. Felt insanely good and minimal pain. Climbing felt great.

Sept 15 & 16 - Went outside. Hiked across talus and freaked the f out. It was fine, but insanely risky. Lead easy routes I knew I wouldn't fall on. Top roped others. Felt good but very scared. 

Sept 20 - second PT appointment. Not officially cleared to do much more, but was excited to keep climbing. Hopped on gym 5.11's. 

Sept 24 - Present - Diligent daily PT exercises continue. I feel nearly cured. Not fully, but getting so close so fast. I lead outdoor 5.11 and attempted my first gym 5.12 since the injury. Gym bouldered very carefully for the first time today, 9/28.

As of today, 9/28, nearly 9 weeks Post-Op, I'm nearly back. Its absolutely amazing. What helped? Much like homeboy Ben Silvestre above, I never stopped being active. I immediately began hangboarding and lifting within 3 days of the surgery. I never stopped walking (scooting) my dog. I contacted a nutritionist. I started chugging collagen twice a day and continued my daily habit of eating Fish Oil pills. 

The cautionary tale that I would tell - I did not fully follow my doctor's advice. You should not do this per my story, but per your own judgement and intuition. 

I have had 0 subluxations. I have had 0 feelings of potential subluxation. I have had absolutely 0 negative experiences with the ankle since beginning to weight bare without a boot and with rehab. Everything has been wonderful and recovery has been swift. 

When I'm climbing, I feel strong. Insanely strong per all of the hanging and lifting. However, I am very timid with my right foot/ankle. This will inevitably progress and I plan to get back to sport projecting before Oct 21, 12 weeks Post Op. Its amazing and it was fast. 

My final thoughts, get the surgery ASAP and never look back. Its been a blessing for my fitness - weighted pull ups and max hangs. It seems as if it will only have progressed my overall strength and love of climbing. My technique? Meh - its worse than it was for sure. 

My thoughts go out to anyone who finds this thread post Sept 22 and has suffered the injury. It seems to happen out of nowhere and is ridiculously unlucky, but you will get back. 

Stay strong, stay smart, and come back to climbing with more stoke than ever. 

DM me with any questions and best of luck to you all. 

Hi All,

I just did my surgery and im 8 weeks out. I can walk very well without boot and off boot since week 5.

This week I freaked out as I saw my tendon did come out a lil bit if I started to give tension and do eversion. Idk if its normal as the swell has subsided a lot so I can see my tendon more visible now and afraid it might fail on me.

My doctor did groove deepening. I thought when you had groove deepening, your tendon shouldnt be even visible. Does it happen to you guys? 

Hi everyone 

I’m grateful I found this thread.  Although not a rock climber, I admire all of you (I’m scared of heights).  I’m a surfer, yoga teacher and paddleboarding athlete that unfortunately has this injury.  The approach to heal it was initially conservative.  Dr I initially saw said I’d heal it on my own.  
It popped about a dozen times the first 2 mos following the injury. I did PT and acupuncture for several months. Peroneal subluxation happened again, painfully, 6 mos after injury. First MRI showed nothing helpful (I originally saw a podiatrist who had zero experience with the injury ). Sent to PT again for several months. Got strength back but stability was challenging. Didn’t return to surfing but was able to paddle, do some yoga and walk without it dislocating. A whole year + went by before it happened again. Has happened 3 x since.
2 + years since injury I finally found a Dr who sees this kind of injury 10 x year and said surgery is best option to repair and get back to my life. Second MRI shows damage to ligaments although tendons aren’t torn. Also, like others I’ve read about, I’m predisposed to this because of the shape of my bone.  BUMMER :( 

Takeaway: find someone in the medical community who understands this type of injury.  MRI doesn’t show the tendons popping out of groove unless they’re totally dislocated AND you can have this injury without an obvious tear.  The more the tendons pop out of place, the more damage you’re causing muscles, tendons and ligaments.  Long term, this isn’t something to mess with.  
The surgeon I saw said this injury happens more frequently than I thought…and can happen to anyone at any age.  

Questions : 

1. Did you all have help from someone in your household that first few weeks ?  My husband can’t take time off work so I’m trying to figure this out.  
2. Any tips for keeping my leg and body strong while healing after surgery ?
3. Did any of you use red light therapy or other complimentary medicine for post surgery healing?

Thank you all so much for your stories.  The surgery will happen for me in the next couple months.  

Take care, Alli 

Allison Mwrote:

Hi everyone 

I’m grateful I found this thread.  Although not a rock climber, I admire all of you (I’m scared of heights).  I’m a surfer, yoga teacher and paddleboarding athlete that unfortunately has this injury.  The approach to heal it was initially conservative.  Dr I initially saw said I’d heal it on my own.  
It popped about a dozen times the first 2 mos following the injury. I did PT and acupuncture for several months. Peroneal subluxation happened again, painfully, 6 mos after injury. First MRI showed nothing helpful (I originally saw a podiatrist who had zero experience with the injury ). Sent to PT again for several months. Got strength back but stability was challenging. Didn’t return to surfing but was able to paddle, do some yoga and walk without it dislocating. A whole year + went by before it happened again. Has happened 3 x since.
2 + years since injury I finally found a Dr who sees this kind of injury 10 x year and said surgery is best option to repair and get back to my life. Second MRI shows damage to ligaments although tendons aren’t torn. Also, like others I’ve read about, I’m predisposed to this because of the shape of my bone.  BUMMER :( 

Takeaway: find someone in the medical community who understands this type of injury.  MRI doesn’t show the tendons popping out of groove unless they’re totally dislocated AND you can have this injury without an obvious tear.  The more the tendons pop out of place, the more damage you’re causing muscles, tendons and ligaments.  Long term, this isn’t something to mess with.  
The surgeon I saw said this injury happens more frequently than I thought…and can happen to anyone at any age.  

Questions : 

1. Did you all have help from someone in your household that first few weeks ?  My husband can’t take time off work so I’m trying to figure this out.  
2. Any tips for keeping my leg and body strong while healing after surgery ?
3. Did any of you use red light therapy or other complimentary medicine for post surgery healing?

Thank you all so much for your stories.  The surgery will happen for me in the next couple months.  

Take care, Alli 

Hey Alli,

Just to answer based on my experience

For the first few weeks you would need help from someone as it will help with your recovery by moving less.

I simulated to walk on crutches with 1 leg before surgery to see if I can help myself as I'm living alone. The answer is can, but quite tiring to cook, wash laundry, etc on your own as you will walk very slow.

Until 3 weeks the doctor let me walk with 1 crutch and walking boot, then only I can hold things on my other hand easily.

After surgery I just ate more protein than usual. If you are an athlete and if you have your personal PT, I believe it is easier for you to do training right after the surgery as the rest of your body part is totally fine after surgery.

Hope this help!

lia

Hi everyone.  Follow up: I had surgery in April.  I'm almost 5 weeks post op.  Have 2 more weeks in a boot.

Questions for those who've had this surgery/post-surgery:

Did you have spasms in your tendon?  Any zinging? Electrical feelings?  Any burning?  I've experienced all of those and Dr says it's normal. .but they tested the tendons to make sure everything in place 10 days post op and everything looked felt great