Hi! Quick update & wondering if this type of situation is "normal", and what I can do about it.

I'm now 2 months out from my "oops" decision that resulted in a sprained ankle. I'm definitely no where ready to race, and haven't even been able to ride my bike trainer for 10 minutes in a super easy 32--27 without having a serious setback. I spent 1 month on crutches, and have been super-compliant with PT exerices, in clinic and at home. Treatment has been physical manipulations by PT/PTAs, ROM, some strength work, lots of balance work, some unweighted walking. Most inflammation is gone, and I could walk (without being unweighted) without limping up to about a week ago, the ankle joint/ligaments have been labelled as healed, strong, and stable, BUT ... there is a new diagnosis of peroneal tendonitis. The pain from the tendonitis largely prevents me from walking without a limp, is intensified by most weight bearing exercise (standing, especially barefoot; walking, cycling; elliptical if tape isn't applied across the lower outer leg). A massage therapist (who I trust) indicates this is b/c residual inflammation is keeping the bones from sitting and interacting properly, and as a result the tendons are not sitting down in their grooves properly. He can tweak the tendons to sit down, which feels wonderful, but after 1 day or so, they're back where they were before massage & incredibly painful again. PT and Dr. say "rest and wait" until the residual inflammation goes down, then go back to the strength phase of the original ankle sprain PT rehab plan.

Unfortunately, Santa didn't bring that extra dose of patience that I was hoping for, and I'm obviously not going to be racing or taking bike vacations anytime soon!

So....is this type of secondary tendonitis common for an ankle sprain?
Is it a result of something I did? Walking too soon, or too much too soon? (It seemed to appear after we added calf raises to the PT program ... calf raises were quickly halted, but...)

And...what do I do about it? After 2 months of resting my ankle/leg, I'm really not keen on adding 2 or more more months to just wait for the inflamed tendon(s) to settle down. Will a steroid shot or ionto help speed healing?

Thanks, in advance, & looking forward to a more positive update soon. The swimming is going well...still can't kick hard or push off the wall, but I'm getting pretty good at one legged pushoffs and swimming. I used to train with a phenomenal swimmer, Darta, who was an amputee with a single leg. Thinking about Darta's achievements is helping me keep things in perspective...and is inspiring me to try some masters swim meets in the next couple of months, 1 legged swimming and all!