Forums >Health and Nutrition>Pain "above" top of foot
Proboscis Colossus
For about a week now, I've had a pain in the area where the top of my right foot meets my shin. It only hurts when I raise the front part of my foot (think about the motion of letting off the accelerator of a car), not when I press down. I'm sure there are names for those two motions, but darned if I can come up with them. The impact of walking/running doesn't seem to hurt, it's when I raise the ball of my foot to take the next step. Some discomfort when I palpate the area, but no real pain - even though I worried initially, I don't think it's a stress fracture or shin splints. It doesn't feel like I remember shin splints felt years ago. I've been taking ibuprofen most nights and some mornings, and icing it about every 2-3 nights. The ice doesn't seem to provide much relief, but the ibuprofen helps a little.
It started after, of all things, a particularly heavy, relaxed nap, during which my foot hung off the end of the footrest of my easy chair. It seems like the weight of the foot pulling down made it sore when I woke up, and it's been sore ever since.
Well, maybe not ever since...it felt great yesterday most of the day, so I celebrated the super-smart way and went on a seven-mile tempo run with a three-mile warm-up and cooldown. Yeah. Now the pain is back, and I've got a race a week from tonight.
Planning on pretty much sticking to strength training (minus the exercises that work that area, obviously) and stationary biking until such time as the pain is gone (last week I still ran, short easy runs only), and when that happens, starting out much slower and shorter. But does anyone have any insight as to what this might be? Mileage was up there in the two weeks leading up to this, but nothing higher than I've done in any of my previous training cycles, and not even dramatically higher than the weeks leading up. I guess maybe I should have thrown a lower-mileage week in there somewhere?
MTA: I've felt the irritation that occurs from lacing up too tightly...this isn't it.
"God guides us on our journey, but careful with those feet." - David Lee Roth, of all people
I've had that same pain, but in my case, it occurred during an attempt at a 12-hour race. I think it was sore ligaments at the top of the foot where it all connects. For me, I went from having to raise my leg in the car with my hands and trouble letting off the accelerator when driving back home, to unable to run at all for about 8 days, to fully healed with 0 issue about 16 days post-race.
In my case I know why they were hurting, I flat out pushed it. And for hours... In your case, I do not because it seems you didn't do anything stressful to cause it. ---Not sure exactly what caused it, but considering tendons take a little time to heal, best thing would be not to run until the pain almost fully subsides. As far as the healing process, a little bit of time is the biggest cure.
With a race in a week, if you are like me, you are going to do the race no matter what, so I wouldn't ask you to skip that! But if you don't run for 5 days or so pre-race, it should fully heal up in your case by then, and you may find an added bonus come race time: That injury and rest period is like a 'forced taper' and if you are healed on race day, you could be doing a PR level performance on race day. Fully healed, and fully rested. Not running for 5'ish days might suck, but if you wait, you may very lilely have a superb race a week from now.
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The Plan '15 → /// "Run Hard, Live Easy." ∞
Thanks, KLD.
Today is the fourth day of no running (since Friday, before which I didn't run for one or two days). I've been spending the time (and calories) I would have spent running in the gym, doing strength exercises that don't use that part of my leg, and hitting the stationary bike. The hated, hated stationary bike. It feels better than it did, though still a little ouchy. It might be my imagination, but it almost seems like the pain has moved downward, to the top of my foot. Don't know why that would happen, though.
Yeah...you're right, it's going to take a lot to convince me not to do the run on Saturday! Mainly because I've been looking forward to it for about a year. It's not a "race," per se, but a "Full Moon 50K" . I ran the 25K option last year and had a blast, in spite of injuring myself (maybe it's just this time of year for me?), and am very much looking forward to running my first 50K. That said, it's an out-and-back course, and there is an option to turn around at the 25K mark, so I'll try to be open to doing that if the foot demands it. Either way, though, I don't plan on "racing" it, especially since it will only be the second time I've run on that terrain in the dark, and the first time I've attempted this distance.
Boy, nothing about this sounds smart, considering the currently-injured foot, does it?
From your description, it really sounds like a tendonitis of some of the extensor tendons secondary to overuse, assuming no acute injury event. (No way to tell for certain without examining you).
It really sounds like your body is telling you not to run that race on Saturday.
I suspect you already know this based on your last sentence. Question now is: would you rather run that race on Saturday and be off for a longer period of time that you would have or rest up and keep running through the late summer and fall.
Good luck with whatever you decide!
You could get a massage or try self-massage for it.
Just not too deep, since the race is so close.
"dancing on the path and singing, now you got away,
you can reach the goals you set from now on, every day"
Sonata Arctica
From your description, it really sounds like a tendonitis of some of the extensor tendons secondary to overuse, assuming no acute injury event. (No way to tell for certain without examining you). It really sounds like your body is telling you not to run that race on Saturday. I suspect you already know this based on your last sentence. Question now is: would you rather run that race on Saturday and be off for a longer period of time that you would have or rest up and keep running through the late summer and fall. Good luck with whatever you decide!
Thanks. Yeah, I'm afraid that is what my body is telling me. Frustrating, though, because indeed, there wasn't an "acute injury event," unless that nap I mentioned counts! You're probably right about the tendonitis, though...the pain does feel kind of tendon-y.
Couple questions...how long after the pain goes away would it be "safe" to try running again? And I know "running again" should mean "go a few miles and see how it feels," not "run your first 50K." But like I say, this isn't exactly a hard-core trail race, it's even described as a "party" on the website (and indeed, the social element was what I enjoyed so much last year). If I go a few miles and it starts flaring up, I won't feel conspicuous at all about just bailing at the 25K turnaround and walking it in.
And, what's the worst-case scenario on something like this? That is, can tendonitis such as what I might have turn into some other, more serious condition, or is the biggest danger just that it will become more and more inflamed and take that much longer to heal?