Who gets peroneal tendonitis?

If your ankle has started to complain in Elmwood Park, you may be asking whether this is a problem for athletes only. The published answer is short, and it is worth reading closely.

Anyone can get it, some more than others

Cleveland Clinic notes that anyone can get peroneal tendonitis, but it is more common in people who play sports that involve a lot of ankle movements.

How to apply that to yourself

Two things follow from the sentence above. Your risk is not limited to athletes, and a sport with a lot of ankle movement is the pattern the source names. Look at your own week for that pattern before you decide what you are dealing with.

The Cleveland Clinic page on peroneal tendonitis is the source for this answer.

What a finished recovery should show

Judge a tendon problem by what you can do again, not only by how it feels at rest. If pain returns when you resume your activity, treat that as a warning and have it examined before you push on.

What to try before you resume

Read Cleveland Clinic's broader overview of tendinopathy, its symptoms, causes and treatment. Then ask a clinician what you should be able to do before you go back to your sport or work.

Matching activity to the ankle

Done right, the question is not whether you are an athlete. It is whether your activity matches what the ankle can currently do.