Once a peroneal tendon tear is diagnosed, an orthopedic foot and ankle specialist should be consulted to determine the proper treatment.
In acute injuries, the ankle should initially be rested in a boot to allow the pain and inflammation to subside and then advanced to a brace and protected weight bearing. Physical therapy is necessary to restore motion and strength to the injured ankle. A shoe insert with a slight wedge may be helpful to further protect the tendons as the patient returns to athletic activity.
If pain persists after these conservative measures, surgery may be necessary. Usually the peroneal tendons can be repaired with stitches and the inflammation is removed from the tendon sheath.
If, however, the tendons are severely torn, they may need to be reconstructed with new tendon tissue. Sometimes this tendon tissue can be obtained from a tendon that is transferred from another part of the same leg. At other times allograft tendons are used. These come from the cadaver bank. The allograft tendons are safe to use, have no immunogenic properties and are not rejected.