Author(s)

N. Yelizarov¹, J. Taunton^2,3*

¹Muscle & Tendon Clinic, Richmond, Canada.
²Division of Sports Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
³Sports Medicine Fortius Sport & Health, Vancouver, Canada.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Posterior tibialis tendon dysfunction (PTTD) is a progressive ailment of a lower limb that, if left untreated, can lead to irreversible changes in the structure and function. The authors of the present study hypothesized the damages to the tibias tendon can be countered and reversed using electrical acupuncture and concurrent treatment of the associated muscle. INTERVENTION: The following study details a successful treatment of the early stage PTTD in a group of competitive athletes using a specific Electrical Intra Muscular Stimulation (EIMS) protocol developed and rooted in years of practice and the knowledge of the pathophysiology of the muscle and tendon tissues. Specifically, a combination the posterior and the original EIMS approach was used to stimulate the tendon and muscle concurrently at a frequency of 2 Hz. Analysis of the VAS scores showed a significant improvement following the treatment sessions. CONCLUSION: The success of this combined muscle/tendon stimulation protocol is given a strong correlation between the mechanism of tendon and muscle injury and recovery. The fast rate of healing and the simplicity of the materials required for the treatment offer a great potential for a wide-spread application. The authors extrapolate that the treatment method, with applicable modifications in needling locations, can be used for an array of common ailments involving tendons and muscles of the lower limb and foot, including the over-pronation, which is now common place due to the overweight problem in the general population.

Tibialis Posterior Tendonitis, EIMS, Repetitive, Muscle Strain, Competitive Diving

Yelizarov, N. and Taunton, J. (2015) Case Study: EIMS Acupuncture Treatment for Posterior Tibialis Tendonitis. Open Journal of Therapy and Rehabilitation, 3, 126-131. doi: 10.4236/ojtr.2015.34017.