Treating tendonitis in my foot

ShibaEars

I did a 10k run on Sunday. Tuesday morning my foot started to hurt, on the outside about mid foot. It feels ok when I first stand up but gets more and more painful the further I walk. Tuesday night I could barely walk on it. I didn't roll it or twist or anything like that.

I went to a doctor on Wednesday, he checked it out for about 10 seconds and said it was probably just a strain and wouldn't need x-rays or a prescription. He told me to take Advil and it should be fine in a couple days.

Well today is Saturday, and it still hurts. From the pictures I've looked at, my best guess would be the peroneus longus or peroneus brevis tendon. Standing on it doesn't hurt, but having to flex it does.

I've been icing it, but is there anything else I can to do treat it? Would an Epsom salt foot bath help this type of injury? And has it been hurting long enough that I should be heading back to the doctor?

ETA: I'm assuming it's tendonitis, the doctor didn't call it that.

Cherimoose

Another possibility is a stress fracture, or something called cuboid syndrome. You'll probably need to see a specialist to get it sorted out.

I've been icing it, but is there anything else I can to do treat it? Would an Epsom salt foot bath help this type of injury?

Epsom salts are more for muscles (whether they help heal them is debatable). Ice is for inflammation, and the current thinking is that there's rarely inflammation with "tendonitis". Tendons usually heal best with warmth, non-painful movement & stretching, and eccentric exercises. That latter one is hard to explain.

Often these kind of things are a sign of worn-out shoes, overpronation, or overtraining. Do any of those apply to you?

ShibaEars

Thanks for the reply! They are newer shoes, but they're just a cheap pair I picked up at Walmart. I needed an inexpensive pair that I can throw out after some "messy" runs this summer (Color run in July, mud run in a couple weeks).

I think I may have just pushed myself too hard. I haven't been running regularly this year (focused more on strength) but I agreed to do this with a friend... so really there wasn't much training for it.

It is still hurting, so I will most likely be trying to get in to see my doctor this week. I will ask about x-rays to see if a fracture is a possibility.

salsxa

I had a stress fracture in the same spot you are describing after being in a moon boot for weeks and I know it hurts.
It really hurt when I flexed it but standing on it was okay so that's what it may be. Mine healed up in about 4-6 weeks as I was still resting my foot a lot. The only way to see a stress fracture is usually by u/s and as the best treatment is rest probably what you need. Icing it or heat packs both worked for me.

ShibaEars

Thanks salsaxa for the reply

I booked an appointment with my actual doctor for this Wednesday, rather than just going to the walk-in clinic. It felt not too bad after the weekend, but I didn't really do too much. The pain is flaring up again as I'm walking around work this morning though.

Morgaine_on_the_move

I would say it's a stress fracture. I got mine after running a 5k and hiking in Peru for two weeks, not really training for either. I thought mine was an issue with a tendon as well until it got worse and worse the more I let it go on. It showed up in the x-ray ( they do after they've started to heal a bit), and I wore a boot for a month. I just walked for two weeks after that, then gradually got back into working out.

1princesswarrior

I would definitely go back to the doctor to rule out a break of any kind or stress fracture.

I have chronic tendonitis in my knee and I use Voltarin Gel. It's only available by prescription in the U.S. but it works wonders if it is a tendon.

MinMin97

I had that last summer, top of my right foot, near the second and third toes. It was super painful, I could hardly walk! And this went on for a while, I didn't know what it was. I did ride my bike, though, without a problem. What worked for me was to freeze a small bottle of water and roll it back and forth on the area. I did this for a number of days, repeatedly throughout the day I would take a break and do this. I used a kitchen towel (single layer) sometimes between me and the ice to keep from actually freezing my skin, but when the bottle starts to melt this is not as much of an issue. I had my foot on an ottoman. I was reading a really good book at the time, so I read...and rolled. I was so happy because this really did fix it! So I would say persistent, consistent ice. Also try to not aggravate it with exercise.

devilwhiterose

I did a half marathon and my feet (and everything else) killed me for just over a week. It did start to feel better with each day though. Ibuprofin and I became good friends.

Just like it was my problem, it was probably your shoes. You have to invest in good shoes.

ShibaEars

I did a half marathon and my feet (and everything else) killed me for just over a week. It did start to feel better with each day though. Ibuprofin and I became good friends.

Just like it was my problem, it was probably your shoes. You have to invest in good shoes.

Ya, crappy shoes don't help, but like I mentioned, I am doing a few messy outdoor runs this year and after the one in August (Mud Hero), they are going in the trash, so there's no way I wanted to wear my good shoes! lol.

My legs/feet/hips definitely all hurt after my run for a couple days, but this pain is one specific spot on one foot. Everything else was back to normal by last Wednesday.

JTick

Unfortunately, it doesn't take very many runs in bad shoes to hurt yourself. I fractured my foot with ONE run in cheap Wal-Mart shoes.

TAsunder

I had a bout of acute peroneal tendonitis in my left ankle area last year. However, it didn't behave quite as you describe. It would get better as the ankle warmed up during a walk or run. In the end, time and advil and stretching helped. Specifically, the stretch where you turn your foot a bit described here: http://runnerunleashed.com/tag/stretches-for-peroneal-tendonitis/

That did wonders for me. Your mileage may vary.

ShibaEars

I finally have an answer, if anyone is interested.

I went for x-rays last week, but nothing out of the ordinary showed up. I went to physio tonight, and he told me it is my cuboid bone. It is out of place and is irritating the muscles & tendons around it which is causing the pain. He said the running on uneven terrain strained the muscles on the outside of my calf, which then put stress on the cuboid bone and pulled it out of alignment. I have some exercises to do to help work it into place and stretch out the tight muscles. In the meantime I have to avoid running, jumping & any quick side to side movements.

ETA: I just reread the answers and realized Cherimoose did mention the cuboid. I wish I'd looked that one up earlier!

MinMin97

Thanks for posting back, it's nice to know how it got diagnosed and resolved! Hope it feels better soon!