I am Mike’s Posterior Tibialis, and I am not happy. You see, I am a work-a-holic. If Mike inverts his ankle I have to work, if Mike points his foot I have to work, if Mike’s foot is on the ground I have to work (my unstable friends the ankle and arch always need a little “support”, if ya know what I mean). I am sick of never getting a rest. However, my biggest problem is that I can’t stand change. If Mike changes his running mileage too fast, if Mike changes his average pace, if Mike changes his shoes, or if Mike changes his running surface I get ticked off.

What Mike does not know is that I can reach the end of my rope really fast. Sure, first I’ll let him know I’m a little mad,  some tendonitis here, some shin splints there, and most of the time he gets the point. But, that time he doesn’t pick up what I’m laying down, he’s going to pay. Without my needed rest, I’m going to be a little stressed out (see medial tibial stress reaction) and then it’s on. If Mike happens to say, “I don’t care, I’ll do what I want,” I’m going to crack, literally ( see stress fracture). The tibia just happens to be my closest companion; therefore, my closest punching bag. When I lose it, it will be the first to know.

At this point I can expect 8-16 weeks of sweet rest, and when Mike decides to return to running or activity it can only be  50% of what he was doing before (at most). But let’s hope it doesn’t get to that point.

I am Mike’s Posterior Tibialis, and I’m a work-a-holic.

For more on the Posterior Tibialis click here.