Flexor digitorum longus injury?? Please help

A few months ago i went to my physio with bad foot pain when exercising, and it turned out to be plantar fisciitis which was caused by wearing cheap gym shoes. It wasn't major, only hurting when i did aerobics and step classes. The pain was also in my lower leg, just between my calf and my tibia, which the physio said was caused because the calf is attatched to the plantar muscles in the foot, therefore the calf stops working when these muscles are being injured to prevent further damage, therefore these other muscles in my leg were taking the pressure and being overworked.

I took a break from the gym for a few weeks, iced my feet, strapped them and bought new shoes and when i went back to the gym they were completely better. I went back to the physio and he said that they had nearly completely healed. I didn't get back into full exercice because soon after i sprained my ankle, so i had another break of about 3 weeks. I went back to the gym last week and did my regular aerobics class, and the next day i had sore muscles (which was expected) from the lunges and squats, and the lower leg muscles which i mentioned earler were a bit sore. The next day after that the muscle in my right leg was especially sore, and its been 5 days since then and it hasnt improved much at all. If i run my finger down the left side of the tibia (on my right leg) theres a very sore spot about 10cm up from my ankle and it feels a bit harder than the rest of that area, ive been looking at muscle charts and im pretty sure its the flexor digitorum longus.

Im wondering if i really need to go back to the physio (because i cant really afford it right now if he's just going to tell me to rest and ice etc), or if its just another case of not exercising till its healed again. Also, if theres any exercises i should be doing to strengthen these muscles? It does worry be a bit that it had flared up after weeks of rest, which id have expected would have healed it from the plantar fisciitis episode.

Any advice would be much appreciated, Amy.

Hi Amy,

It sounds a bit like shin splints. Does it hurt when you are at rest or just when you exercise? Is it all exercise?

Try some ice on it and rest from impact activities e.g. aerobics and running

Thanks - i was looking up splints yesterday and it does seem to be similar. It doesn't hurt while im still, but does hurt a bit when im walking and more when im jumping around. Its nearly better now, but im going to rest for a few more weeks anyway - its just frustrating that it keeps on happening after i do rest!

What you need to do when you return to activity is do it gradually. I would go to the gym now but do non-impact work e.g. bike, cross-trainer. Then as the pain subsides do a little bit of running, just until you feel some discomfort. Then gradually increase your running time as pain allows and you will eventually get back to what you were doing.

With the aerobics, is there a lower impact one you can attend. If not speak to the instuctor as you will need to sit out part of the class if the pain comes on.