Preventing injury

melgmfp

Hi everyone, I'm a bit of a runner, nothing major probably 100km a month but recently I keep getting this bad pain in the top of my right foot. I've iced it and rested for about 3 or 4 days until the pain went but it keeps coming back after long runs or even long walks now. Any ideas how long I need to rest to get it better? Running is something I've found so much stress relief and pleasure in I really don't want to give it up!

RoxieDawn

Your thread is called preventing injury. I think you already have an injury. Perhaps a doctor can look at for you to make sure you do not have a stress fracture.

macgurlnet

Seconding what @RoxieDawn has said. If you've tried one round of rest/ice and still have pain, time for a professional to take a look and see what's going on. They can give you further guidance for how to recover.

~Lyssa

AmandaHugginkiss

You may have a stress fracture or tendinitis.

Go to the doctor. Also, probably time to change shoes.

socalrunner59

Not a doctor, but a long time runner. Sounds like tendinitis.

Your shoe may be putting too much pressure on the metatarsals. Before running out to buy new shoes. Try a different lace pattern:
1. ladder lace pattern
2. seven eyelet heel lock

The illustration of seven eyelet heel lock is here:

https://runnersconnect.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/six-eyelet-lock-lacing.png

cwolfman13

Injuries come with the territory...that said, there are things you can do to mitigate the risk. For one, adequately feeding/fueling your fitness...many over train injuries aren't actually overtrain injuries at all but rather a matter of underfeeding.

Also, cross train...I'm dealing with some issues right now because I've been very bad about cross training. I'm currently dealing with a herniated disk and pinched nerve in my neck due in large part to cycling my *kitten* off for the last four years which has resulted in my shoulders rolling forward despite a pretty well balanced lifting protocol. Right now I'm in physical therapy and I've been advised to swap out a couple of days of cycling for swimming and I'm also doing more direct work to my rear delts in the gym. I've also started doing more yoga.

Rest days should be incorporated into your overall program and should be thought of as part of that program...it's just as important as the work. Note that a rest day doesn't necessarily mean sitting around doing nothing...I tend to do more recreational type of activities on my rest days like going for an easy family hike or something. I also do recovery yoga on my rest days. Sometimes I cycle, but I do it at a recovery/recreational pace rather than a training pace...so you could go for an easy and shorter jog rather than a run.

Do some resistance training...resistance training will make you a better and more complete runner and will reduce your injury risk.

All that said, it sounds like you already have an injury...time to take a rest...if it doesn't resolve or worsens then you need to see a doctor. If it resolves but comes back when you start up again, I'd see a doctor. It could be a simple matter of the tendons being overworked (I get that and rolling my arches on a lacrosse ball helps ease the tension even on the tops of my feet and I also self massage)...or it could be something more serious like a fracture.

robininfl

This really sounds like you may have a stress fracture and should not run until its healed, if you have the $ you could get an x-ray to check for this.

I do the heel lock lacing on my shoes as my feet are narrow and skin is not really tough, this helps my feet to stay in the shoes and not slip around so much.

Also I swear by the insoles that are anti vibration. Sorbothane - just thin insoles made of the stuff that people put under big speakers to keep them from vibrating on the floor. I've had the same pair for 2.5 years, moving them into new shoes whenever I get 'em.


But if you have cracked one of the little bones in there, nothing will work until that heels. The sooner you rest the faster your recovery.

melgmfp

Thanks everyone I will try a different lacing pattern and see a doctor if it doesn't go away after another rest cycle. I do resistance training already and my shoes are only about 3 months old so I can't need new ones already maybe I've just overdone it. I haven't been a runner all my life only the last couple of years and I have heard that the first couple of years of running you are at high risk of injury