Prior to heading to a physio near me to recover from Peroneal Tendinopathy, it is essential to ensure you have a proper diagnosis. This will mean an appointment with a doctor and then going through a process to properly assess the issue. From there you can then discuss what kind of treatment would be best. Here is a closer look.
Diagnosing Peroneal Tendonitis
Step One – Medical history
First, the medical doctor will want to talk about your medical history. As well as asking about the symptoms, when it began, and what makes it worse or better they will also want to relate that to whether you have had it before or if they have been injured or hurt in a way that might be connected to your current symptoms. Your doctor and your physio Perth will also want to know about your physical activity, lifestyle, and the footwear you use. The information you give and your background will be a part of them assessing whether it sounds like peroneal tendinopathy or if it could be something else.
Step two – Examination
The specialist or doctor will then carry out a physical exam that will usually include feeling the area around those tendons. They are checking for thickening, swelling and heat. They may ask you to move in certain ways like standing up on your toes or inverting the foot to see what pain this causes. Some might do a manual resistance test where they place pressure on the ankle or foot as they tell you to move it. They are looking at the strength of the tendons and what function you still have in them. A physio near me would perform something similar to see what approach to take for your treatment. While having you move as they feel things they will be asking questions about how much pain there is, the nature of the pain, where it is, does it get worse after certain activities and so on.
Step three – Diagnostic testing
After learning the symptoms, your medical background and the physical exam, the doctor may then decide they need to order some diagnostic tests. They can then confirm the diagnosis of Peroneal Tendinopathy. It might include an MRI, an X-ray, CT scan and an ultrasound. The MRI will give an image of the soft tissues and give a clearer idea about the swelling and if there is degeneration in the tendons. The X-ray rules out concerns about fractures or bone abnormalities. The CT scan gives cross-sectional images. The ultrasound gives images of the tendons in real-time so they can see if they are moving as they should be.
Summary
When you have seen a doctor of some kind to get the diagnosis of Peroneal Tendinopathy you can then be referred to or find a physio Perth located so you can recover. They can help with easing the pain, giving you exercises to do at home to help with the healing, and how to avoid making things worse, or slow down the recovery time.
