A Simple Guide to Extensor Tendonitis, Diagnosis, Treatment and Related Conditions

By Kenneth Kee

This book describes Extensor Tendonitis, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases

Today I have a 60 year old lady who consulted me about pain on top of her left foot for the past 1 month.
She complained pain in the 1st tendon of her right foot which was also swollen and hard.
There were particularly cramps in the foot when she flexes her toes upwards.
There was no history of injury but she does a lot of standing on her feet doing housework and looking after her dog and cats.
It was a clear case of extensor tendonitis of the foot.

Extensor tendonitis is a frequent disorder that produces pain across the top of the foot.

This form of foot tendonitis is produced by inflammation or irritation of the tendons that pull the toes up.

Normally, tendonitis of the extensor tendons happens caused by repeated friction across the top of the foot or excessive pressure from a poorly-fitting shoe.

Tendons are tough, fibrous connective tissues that attach muscles to bones.

The extensor tendons attach the muscles on the front of the lower leg to the toes.

They lift the toes upwards away from the ground.

The two main toe extensor tendons are:

1. Extensor Hallucis Longus which lifts up the big toe
2. Extensor Digitorum Longus which lifts the other four toes

Both tendons pass down across the front of the ankle, across the top of the foot and then fan out attaching to the tips of the toes.

The extensor tendons lie between the skin and the bones and there is little cushion around them, making them susceptible to injury resulting in ‘top of foot’ pain.

These tendons have an important function and are in vulnerable sites.

The most frequent cause is the overuse of the muscles, bones, and tendons in the feet.

In the feet, it is most often caused by:
a. Spending a lot of time standing (occupational hazard)
b. Wearing shoes that are too tight
c. Using inappropriate footwear for a sport or activity

There are a number of factors that raise the risk of developing extensor tendonitis in the foot:
1.Trauma or injury
(involved in an accident or dropping something heavy on the foot)
2.Poorly fitting shoes:
3.Tying one’s shoelaces too tight
4.Altered biomechanics of the foot
5.High foot arch or flat feet
6.Change in training methods
7.Running on ice/slippery surfaces

Pain at the top of the foot is a major symptom of Extensor Tendonitis
It is worsened by movement and intense physical effort
The stretching of the tendons can elicit a lot of pain
Diffuse swelling is also present over the top of the foot

There is a specific diagnosis test that can be conducted in order to make the final confirmation.
The doctor will ask the patient to pull the toes upward, fighting against the resistance.
If pain appears at the top of the foot or along the mid-foot it will be certain that the patient are suffering from extensor tendonitis.

MRI can give a better image of the tendons, muscles and other soft tissue

With proper rest and treatment with ice, there will be significant improvement for the patient to be able to start some light stretching and strengthening exercises within 7 to 10 days.

Other treatment is massage, NSAID, steroid injection, Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) treatment, shock wave therapy, tenex procedure and rarely surgery.

TABLE OF CONTENT
Introduction
Chapter 1 Extensor Tendonitis
Chapter 2 Causes
Chapter 3 Symptoms
Chapter 4 Diagnosis
Chapter 5 Treatment
Chapter 6 Prognosis
Chapter 7 Achilles Tendonitis
Chapter 8 Plantar Fasciitis
Epilogue

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kenneth Kee
• Release date: Jun 24, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005290931

Kenneth Kee

Medical doctor since 1972.Started Kee Clinic in 1974 at 15 Holland Dr #03-102, relocated to 36 Holland Dr #01-10 in 2009.Did my M.Sc (Health Management ) in 1991 and Ph.D (Healthcare Administration) in 1993.Dr Kenneth Kee is still working as a family doctor at the age of 74However he has reduced his consultation hours to 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours inthe afternoon.He first started writing free blogs on medical disorders seen in the clinic in 2007 on http://kennethkee.blogspot.com.His purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of his patients which is also his dissertation for his Ph.D (Healthcare Administration). He then wrote an autobiography account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.comThis autobiography account “A Family Doctor’s Tale” was combined with his early “A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders” into a new Wordpress Blog “A Family Doctor’s Tale” on http://ken-med.com.From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 1000 eBooks.He apologized for typos and spelling mistakes in his earlier books.He will endeavor to improve the writing in futures.Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.The later books go into more details of medical disorders.He has published 1000 eBooks on various subjects on health, 1 autobiography of his medical journey, another on the autobiography of a Cancer survivor, 2 children stories and one how to study for his nephew and grand-daughter.The purpose of these simple guides is to educate patient on health disorders and not meant as textbooks.He does not do any night duty since 2000 ever since Dr Tan had his second stroke.His clinic is now relocated to the Buona Vista Community Centre.The 2 units of his original clinic are being demolished to make way for a new Shopping Mall.He is now doing some blogging and internet surfing (bulletin boards since the 1980's) startingwith the Apple computer and going to PC.The entire PC is upgraded by himself from XT to the present Pentium duo core.The present Intel i7 CPU is out of reach at the moment because the CPU is still expensive.He is also into DIY changing his own toilet cistern and other electric appliance.His hunger for knowledge has not abated and he is a lifelong learner.The children have all grown up and there are 2 grandchildren who are even more technically advanced than the grandfather where mobile phones are concerned.This book is taken from some of the many articles in his blog (now with 740 posts) A Family Doctor’s Tale.Dr Kee is the author of:"A Family Doctor's Tale""Life Lessons Learned From The Study And Practice Of Medicine""Case Notes From A Family Doctor"

Book preview

A

Simple

Guide

To

Extensor Tendonitis,

Diagnosis,

Treatment

And

Related Conditions

By

Dr Kenneth Kee

M.B.,B.S. (Singapore)

Ph.D (Healthcare Administration)

Copyright Kenneth Kee 2021 Smashwords Edition

Published by Kenneth Kee at Smashwords.com

Dedication

This book is dedicated

To my wife Dorothy

And my children

Carolyn, Grace

And Kelvin

This book describes Extensor Tendonitis, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases which is seen in some of my patients in my Family Clinic.

(What You Need to Treat Extensor Tendonitis)

This e-Book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader.

If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.

Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Introduction

I have been writing medical articles for my blog: http://kennethkee.blogspot.com (A Simple Guide to Medical Disorder) for the benefit of my patients since 2007.

My purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of my patients.

Health Education was also my dissertation for my Ph.D (Healthcare Administration).

I then wrote an autobiography account of my journey as a medical student to family doctor on my other blog: http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.com.

This autobiography account A Family Doctor’s Tale was combined with my early A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders into a new Wordpress Blog A Family Doctor’s Tale on http://kenkee481.wordpress.com.

From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 800 eBooks.

Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.

For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.

The later books go into more details of medical disorders.

The first chapter is always from my earlier blogs which unfortunately is likely to have typos and spelling mistakes.

Since 2013, I have tried to improve my spelling and writing.

As I tried to bring the patient the latest information about a disorder or illness by reading the latest journals both online and offline, I find that I am learning more and improving on my own medical knowledge in diagnosis and treatment for my patients.

Just by writing all these simple guides I find that I have learned a lot from your reviews (good or bad), criticism and advice.

I am sorry for the repetitions in these simple guides as the second chapters onwards have new information as compared to my first chapter taken from my blog.

I also find repetition definitely help me and maybe some readers to remember the facts in the books more easily.

I apologize if these repetitions are irritating to some readers.

Chapter 1

Extensor tendonitis

Today I have a 60 year old lady who consulted me about pain on top of her left foot for the past 1 month.

She complained pain in the 1st tendon of her right foot which was also swollen and hard.

There were particularly cramps in the foot when she flexes her toes upwards.

There was no history of injury but she does a lot of standing on her feet doing housework and looking after her dog and cats.

It was a clear case of extensor tendonitis of the foot.

What is Extensor tendonitis?

Extensor tendonitis is a frequent disorder that produces pain across the top of the foot.

This form of foot tendonitis is produced by inflammation or irritation of the tendons that pull the toes up.

Normally, tendonitis of the extensor tendons happens caused by repeated friction across the top of the foot or excessive pressure from a poorly-fitting shoe.

Tendons are tough, fibrous connective tissues that attach muscles to bones.

The extensor tendons attach the muscles on the front of the lower leg to the toes.

They lift the toes upwards away from the ground.

The two main toe extensor tendons are:

1. Extensor Hallucis Longus which lifts up the big toe

2. Extensor Digitorum Longus which lifts the other four toes

Both tendons pass down across the front of the ankle, across the top of the foot and then fan out attaching to the tips of the toes.

The extensor tendons lie between the skin and the bones and there is little cushion around them, making them susceptible to injury resulting in ‘top of foot’ pain.

These tendons have an important function and are in vulnerable sites.

If the patient has been diagnosed with extensor tendonitis in the feet, it is likely because the patient uses a lot of time standing or walking on the feet or wearing shoes that are too tight.

What are the Causes of Extensor Tendonitis?

Causes

There are a number of factors that raise the risk of developing extensor tendonitis in the foot:

1. Friction:

Extensor tendonitis most often happens caused by the foot rubbing against a tight shoe, either from the shoe being too small or being laced up too tightly

Extensor tendonitis within the foot often happens from overuse of the foot.

When the shoe tightens around the foot, the shoe can increase pressure to the extensor tendons.

With the persistent pressure on the extensor tendons, the tendons will become inflamed.

The inflammation of the extensor tendons produces the pain

Foot tendons can be inflamed if they move against shoes that are too tight.

If the patient run and the running shoes or laces are pressing too hard against the tendons, the