Hi all,

I'm an avid hiker and have managed to do something unpleasant to my ankle. I understand that generally the best course of action is to go see a doctor. So far, I have been to my naturopath, my family doctor, and a sports medicine physician. My naturopath seems to think I have peroneal tendinitis, the family doc thinks I have achilles tendinitis, and the sports medicine physician was utterly unhelpful.

Here's what occurred: I was on a hike two months ago where I was sidehilling (e.g., walking across an incline with the now injured foot uphill the entire time) for several hours when the pain started. It has hurt to various degrees since then. The pain is present around the lateral malleolus, toward my calf muscle (on the outside), as well as just above my heel. Sometimes it is also present below the malleolus and even a little bit on the bottom of my foot. Pain is made worse by immobilization due to taping (especially posterior to the malleolus) - I have tried various taping methods. Pain is also made worse by hiking, particularly up and down inclines.

EDITED TO ADD: I have also gotten a weird bruise where the peroneus longus muscle attaches a little below and to the outside of the knee) and that area is very tender. I know it's not an impact bruise as it has occurred twice now since my ankle injury.

I have greatly reduced my activities, am icing, taking NSAIDs, using epsom salts baths, using a TENS (all these recommended by the various physicians I have seen thus far). I'm frustrated because at this point I don't really understand what's wrong, let alone how to go about recovering as efficiently as possible.

Anyone have any ideas about what might be going on?

I have a PT appointment for next week. Due to my prior fruitless experiences with various doctors and PTs, I am anxious that this appointment will not be as helpful as I am hoping. How should I approach my PT for the best results? I realize my appointment time is pretty limited, so I want to bring the most useful information to the table. What kind of information is the most relevant to share?

Ooops. Long post. Any input y'all might have would be greatly appreciated!

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