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My foot hurts and it's freaking me out. (Read 202 times)

    Guys, my foot hurts. Here's the deal. For the last week or so, my lower left leg has been acting strange: weird, almost shooting pains (but not that intense) in the shin, which I put down to a strangely stiff/sore shin muscle (the outer one). Massaged that, seemed to help. I figured I needed to replace my shoes, Mizuno Inspires which were getting pretty beat-up even though they only have around 300 miles on them Sad So I did that.

     

    Then I started getting a tense feeling - not pain, not even really a cramp, just tension - deep in my left foot, like over the arch, but in the middle between the arch and the top of the foot. It was fine while running, it just would feel weird on and off during the day and in bed at night. This morning I got up and the foot hurt when I walked, so obviously I did the smart thing and went out for a jog. It didn't hurt while I was jogging. Now it hurts again. The pain is still over the arch, but more toward the top of the foot. It's not seriously painful, just kind of nagging. Like a 2 on a pain scale from 1-10.

     

    I'm hypothesizing that the foot pain and the tight shin muscle are related. I looked at some anatomical charts to try and figure out what muscles/tendons might be involved, but there's a lot going on down there. I guess what I'm asking for is: any stretches or fancy trigger point tricks I can try? And do we think this might be some precursor to an injury, or is my foot just pissed off because I really needed new shoes?

     

    MTA: I slapped an ice pack on it even though it doesn't feel sore to the touch....and I'm wearing compression socks, just in case my tight calves have anything to do with this. Also, I haven't done anything radical with my training, just the same old same old plodding along for 35-40 miles/wk.

    JML


      Hazarding a guess over the internet......it sounds like mild plantar fasciitis  symptoms.  The tightness in your lower leg and the pain in the foot are likely related as you suspect.  I would recommend getting a deep tissue massage on your lower leg and foot to really work out the tightness.  I had PF a while ago and was able to get it to go away through a combination of massage (Active Release Technique to be specific), stretching (particularly with a golf ball to loosen up the arch) and use of the strassburg sock.

       

      Does it hurt more when you first get out of bed in the morning and then gets better as the day progresses?  If so, this is a classic PF symptom.

      Rebuilding my aerobic base....racing next year.....nothing to see here....move along now.


      Ostrich runner

        Could be cubital too.

        http://www.runningahead.com/groups/Indy/forum

          Thank you both!

           

          Could be cubital too.

           

          I know, it could pretty much be anything and nobody can diagnose anything online. I was hoping there might be a magic relax-your-foot stretch I'd never heard of, but guess not. Well, I will keep rolling, massaging, icing, and see what happens. Probably I was just freaking out unnecessarily and it's just a new niggle my body is adding to the repertoire, that will require attention but hopefully not become anything worse. You know, like the tight calves, the bitchy hamstrings, the diva IT band...


          Ostrich runner

            The magic foot stretch is the Foot Rubz ball. That said, it does stand to reason that the tightness higher up is related. I'd start with a massage therapist who knows runners.

            http://www.runningahead.com/groups/Indy/forum

            Caxrine


              This is the exactly what I am thinking (freaking out about my new foot pain):

               

              I am less than two weeks to the NYC Marathon. Can't say why but I changed to bungee laces on Saturday. Also, put in new (next size up) super feet inserts. (I had been running with size 7 inserts for all weeks of training but there was a gap in the toe box).Ran 10 miles on Saturday  Now my feet are KILLING Me!! Top of left foot perhaps extensor  tendonitis and arch of right foot burning).  Been icing and mostly staying off feet for 2 days -- no improvement. Tomorrow I plan to put back my old laces and go to store and buy new replacement insert (size 7, as I threw out the old ones).

               

              Can someone please tel me I will be ok for the marathon -- I could really use a bit of confidence/hope. Perhaps someone has similar experience and it worked out ok. Big thanks!! Catherine


              some call me Tim

                Take a look at this:

                 

                http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsYLsjXVLR8

                 

                This guy's brand of self-PT (he *is* a PT by the way) has done sometimes amazing things for me and those I have used it on, but it's *not* a magic bullet by any means and it works better if you catch the problem in its beginning stages. It's I would say that no matter what you would benefit from working on that tissue, and if nothing else I think you'll find some of the anatomical/troubleshooting stuff here enlightening. The stuff he does with the massage toy can be done with a plain old lacrosse ball. Don't hurt yourself, and don't try to fix the problem in one session.

                 

                Good luck!

                  This is the exactly what I am thinking (freaking out about my new foot pain):

                   

                  I am less than two weeks to the NYC Marathon. Can't say why but I changed to bungee laces on Saturday. Also, put in new (next size up) super feet inserts. (I had been running with size 7 inserts for all weeks of training but there was a gap in the toe box).Ran 10 miles on Saturday  Now my feet are KILLING Me!! Top of left foot perhaps extensor  tendonitis and arch of right foot burning).  Been icing and mostly staying off feet for 2 days -- no improvement. Tomorrow I plan to put back my old laces and go to store and buy new replacement insert (size 7, as I threw out the old ones).

                   

                  Can someone please tel me I will be ok for the marathon -- I could really use a bit of confidence/hope. Perhaps someone has similar experience and it worked out ok. Big thanks!! Catherine

                   

                  Oh man! That sounds nasty. I think all you can do is exactly what you're doing: stay off it, ice, wait for the pain to subside, and when you can run again, go back to what you were using before. And then I can offer the usual platitudes about how the hay is in the barn, and even if you don't run a step the next 2 weeks you will still be able to run the marathon (assuming the pain goes away by then).

                   

                  I can't tell you whether it'll be ok for the marathon, but if this information helps at all, my foot is pretty ok now. I have no idea what happened, but I massaged the hell out of all the muscles and tendons I could get my hands on and the pain went away. Even ran a half marathon on Sunday! With any luck, yours will disappear just as quickly....

                   

                  blargendarg - thanks for the link, will definitely check it out.


                  some call me Tim

                    rhr, glad to hear it's improved and maybe that video can shed some light on why. Starrett's tagline is, "Every human should be able to perform basic maintenance on themselves." I really like that concept.

                    kristin10185


                    Skirt Runner

                      Deep tissue massages do wonders for all my muscle tightness related problems. Expensive but SO worth it!

                      PRs:   5K- 28:16 (5/5/13)      10K- 1:00:13 (10/27/13)    4M- 41:43 (9/7/13)   15K- 1:34:25  (8/17/13)    10M- 1:56:30 (4/6/14)     HM- 2:20:16 (4/13/14)     Full- 5:55:33 (11/1/15)

                       

                      I started a blog about running :) Check it out if you care to