A Case Study on Posterior Tibial Tendonitis Treated Successfully with E-Stim (Electro-Acupuncture)

Acupuncture is a great modality for the treatment of injuries, whether acute or chronic. This particular injury had elements of both, with the onset of pain occurring suddenly during an hour-long run. The condition had been developing over the previous 4 months of training while the patient was in the process of increasing her mileage in order to run a half marathon. The pain was sharp and located on the right side only, inferior and posterior to the medial malleolus (inner ankle).

The patient was advised by a PT to rest her ankle and perform ice massage.  She took about a month off of running, did some irregular icing, and received very deep massage work, but the pain recurred immediately upon running.  She started seeing a different PT about 2 months after the onset of the pain, and a few weeks after that started to receive acupuncture. At this point, she had reduced her running from 5x/week to 3x/week and dropped her mileage to below 3 miles a run. She always took a day off between runs, and performed regular strengthening exercises assigned by the PT. After a few treatments using local tender points and moxibustion, I switched to e-stim. She came in 3x/week for 3 weeks. I needled Ki 2 and 7 and Sp 4 and 6 with e-stim at medium frequency for about 25 minutes at each visit. Following the 3rd week of this treatment, she reported her first pain-free run in 6 months. She has spent the past month pain-free and started to very slowly rebuild her mileage. Treatment frequency is now about once a month.

Do you have an injury? Are you in pain? Acupuncture can help facilitate the healing process. Get in touch for a free consultation.