Running smart - or running stupid (Read 670 times)

I thought I was having a recurrence of an injury to my soleus - but now I am not so sure. I have totally painless swelling on the inside of my lower leg maybe 3-4" above the ankle(feels like mostly fluid). There is a knot in the soleus, but it seems to be pretty minor in size. I have been aggressively stretching,icing, limiting surfaces to the treadmill / rubberized track,wearing a shin splint,and have eliminated all "junk" miles, and gone to every other day runs to allow more recovery time. I take 1 advil 30 min before running. I have a portable ice cup, and ice right before and immediately after I run (I discussed this with a doc because I was a little leary about taking the advil prior to running, but he said 1 was OK). Initial impact hurts, I have to really focus to maintain even ground contact time - but is pretty much gone in 10 -12 minutes. I walk for 30 sec every 3-4 miles even if I feel I don't need to. What is happening is that I am running = and more mileage in less days . My leg is not worse and maybe a tiny bit better(longer recovery?). I can stand 1 legged on the ball of my foot, walk on the flat, stretch without pain - BUT within 4 -6 hrs after my run- going up and down stairs hurts all along the bone - mostly gone after 24 - 36 hrs. The worst pain is when I do a step up - Left foot on bench, right leg on ground parallel to bench- step up with left leg doing all the work - this is enough to make me wince and doesn't matter if my foot is flat or pointed (right leg is the problem)I have NO pain when the right leg is on the bench and doing all the work . When my soleus was injured last year, I could not even flex my foot without pain - this is different.I'm beginning to wonder if this is a nerve issue or compartment syndrome issue? Is it time to have this more fully evaluated? Is this just a case of if you are an older runner,some pain is just part of the price you pay? I can do that, but I just wouldn't want to do anything that is going to sideline me for any length of time. Any thoughts? More than 1 issue going on here? Thanks, Cheryl

Sounds like tendonitis. I am dealing with the same thing although no swelling. Keep icing and using advil. Rest is the only real way to get rid of it if thats what it is. Use a heating pad on your off days and see how you do. Hope this helps. Some others may have different ideas. DB