Top of toe tendonitis

Not sure the official name of this tendon, but at my doctor's appt. last week, she confirmed that I have tendinitis in the small tendon that runs on top of the big toe and back into the foot on my right foot. Even though it was not bothering me that day, when she manipulated the tendon, there was no doubt that was where the off-and-on pain I've been getting in that area originated (better than arthritis, as I feared!)

So, I am not sure if running, cycling, hiking are the culprit, or if footwear is to blame. I have a couple of pairs of backless sandals that have heavy soles, and since they are backless, they require I pull up the weight of them with every step. I've noticed that the tendon is sore after I wear those, and I've also noticed it after running, and even after mountain biking last night (nothing technical, just fire roads).

I wore one of the bad pairs of sandals today and the toe is killing me tonight. I'm getting ready to ice it now. That's about all the doc recommended, plus anti-inflammatories for 10 days (I've been taking Aleve 2x a day since Friday to no avail) and discarding any footwear that seems to exacerbate the pain (both pairs of sandals are in my donation bag as of tonight!!)

Are there any other ideas of how to help this heal from the PTs on the boards? And I'm curious -- any idea why only one is foot affected? I'm tired of being in pain doing things I love to do -- I'm walking with a painful limp right now after just wearing those blasted shoes and walking a lot at work today!

:(

Thanks in advance,
Emily

I'm not a PT, but after you correct the biomechanical issues, tendinitis can still be a b*tch to heal...

my sister is an acupuncture physician, and she recommended Udo's Choice omega 3/6/9 oil supplement for my tendinitis. It really helped. 1-1/2 tbsp in the morning and 1 tbsp in the evening - which is a lot of calories to get from oil, but I just tried to reduce the rest of my fat intake as much as possible while I was taking it.