What I Learned About the Peroneal

To begin, when you strain a tendon...or have tendonitis from overuse....it stinks. I'd use something more colorful, but 'stinks' pretty much covers it. I don't know if it's a strain or actual tendonitis exactly because I haven't seen a doctor, but my guess is tendonitis since I've been running regularly. No matter. The important part is that it hurts and keeps me from running, neither of which I like.

So, what is the peroneal? It's the area on the side of the foot, and the peroneal tendons are here...which is exactly along the area where my foot hurts:

I would have never really thought about these tendons, until injuring them, but now that I've have the "opportunity" to research them, I find that they're interesting. These tendons are largely responsible for our ability to maintain balance. They help maintain the foots position when walking and running, and control muscle contraction when moving the foot to the side.

Okay. o_O

So maybe not that interesting, but I found some exercises to help strengthen my feet. Dance exercises at that! Releves help strengthen the feet and ankles, building balance. Here's a nifty gif of dancer feet.

and these arch stretches...

and eventually working up to this! It's crazy. I know. But with these exercises and yoga tree poses, my feet will be so much stronger and happier...

except you might not like them when they're angry.