The muscle runs down the lateral side of your lower leg and attaches to your foot.
Peroneus longus pain can cause difficulties with daily activities, including those that involve walking or running.
The nerve supply to the peroneus longus is through thesuperficial peroneal nerve.
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The nerve comes from lumbar level five and sacral levels one and two.
The blood supply to the peroneus longus comes from the anterior tibial and peroneal arteries.
The muscle also helps thegastrocnemius(calf) musclein pointing your toes down (plantar flexing).
The peroneus longus also supports the transverse arch in your foot.
It also has high tensile strength, so it’s sometimes used during knee surgery for a harvestedanterior cruciateligamentgraft.
There are a few conditions that can affect the muscle and cause difficulty with walking or running.
Peroneal Tendonitis
Peroneal tendonitis is when the long tendon of the peroneus muscle gets inflamed and irritated.
In some cases, the peroneal tendon may be pinched beneath the bone that it courses under.
Pain on the outer portion of your foot and ankle may make it difficult to walk or run normally.
Strains range in severity from a mild overstretch to a full-thickness tear of the peroneus muscle.
The recovery time will depend on how bad the strain is.
This condition may cause pain or discomfort but does not always.
This movement can damage the lateral ligaments of your ankle and overstretch your peroneal tendons.
The peroneus longus may get irritated if you roll your ankle.
Mostankle sprains healin 4 to 6 weeks.
A pinched nerve can cause pain in your lower leg and weakness in the muscles that move your ankle.
Sometimes, the tibialis anterior gets weakened as a result, leading tofoot dropand trouble moving your ankle normally.
A pinched nerve can get better after just a few days or may take weeks to resolve.
You may need to see a foot and ankle surgeon if youve had an injury.
Once they figure out what the problem is, your provider can recommend treatment.
How Is Peroneus Longus Pain Treated?
Rest
Getting off your feet for a while gives your peroneus longus tendon time to heal properly.
Depending on the severity of your injury, you may need it for three days to several weeks.
Ice should be applied for 10 to 15 minutes several times each day.
A few days after the injury,heat may be usedto promote circulation.
you’re able to apply heat for 10 minutes at a time.
Care should be taken when using ice or heat to avoid skin irritation and burns.
Prone press-ups,side glides, orlumbar flexionmay benefit a pinched nerve.
The peroneus longus muscles are stretched by turning your ankle inward.
Improvingbalanceandproprioceptioncan be an important part of your rehab program.
Massage can also help to improve tissue mobility of the muscle and can be something you do before stretching.
Massaging the peroneal muscles should not hurt.
Your provider may recommend using inserts in your shoes to help support the arch of your foot.
Injections
If you have persistent peroneus longus pain from inflammation, your provider might offer asteroid injection.
These powerful anti-inflammatory medications can reduce tendon pain and swelling.
A newer procedure calledplatelet-rich plasma (PRP) injectionmight also help relieve peroneus longus pain.
During PRP, blood is taken from your body and spun in a centrifuge to get platelets and plasma.
The platelets are mixed with a small amount of plasma and are injected into your tendon.
Research is still being done on PRP therapy and its safety and effectiveness for the treatment of tendon injuries.
After surgery, you should expect to be immobilized for a few weeks while your body is healing.
Summary
The peroneus longus is an important muscle in your lower leg that helps your ankle move.
Injury to the muscle can cause pain and limit your ability to walk or run.
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