foot pain after walking marathon help!

pinktoesjb

I walked a full marathon on saturday night for cancer research and today my foot is killing me! It wasn't so bad yesterday and I iced it on the recommendation of a relative, rather than soak in warm water.

The top of my foot around the ankle is starting to discolour and my ankle is swelling but the outside edge of my sole is really sore, I can't stand for long and putting pressure on it is really painful. When I flex my foot I feel lots of little judders, almost like bubbles.

Is this normal? Has anyone else had something like this? I really don't want to haul myself to to doctors without good cause as I don't have transport and walking on it really isn't going to help!

lawtechie

I would highly recommend going to doc. It doesn't sound like a break, but you could have sprained it really bad. How much did you train for this walk? If little to none you probably are feeling the pain from that. How much did you eat/drink during the walk? Elevate your leg, take an Advil or ibuprofen or two and rest for a few hours and drink lots of water. If the swelling doesn't seem to go down then get yourself to a doctor. And don't walk there, take a taxi!

edit: How long did you ice it for? Shouldn't be longer than 10 minutes at any one point and never put ice directly on your skin. The RICE method might help too. Rest, ice, Compression, Elevation -- it's the discoloration that you talk about that concerns me.

Congrats on finishing your walk. A worthy cause indeed!

JimHeid

A day or so after I ran for an hour I had something similar... but on the inside of the left ankle. Mine was, I found out, distal posterior tibial tendonitis. I have been babying it for a week now and it is almost OK. Comes from excessive pressure on tendons which catch your foot as the heel stikes the pavement. Your may be similar. The advice I got was to avoid running and hiking until it was really healed.. whenever that will be! I wish I had used ice, but too late now. Good luck on yours.

mother_war

i don't think i can really give an opinion of "normalcy." if it's starting to discolor though, i don't think you should feel "odd" about having it checked out. (i can competely understand feeling reluctant, though.) not to be too nosey- but do do you often walk.. or are long walks not really your thing..? it's okay if you tell me to mind my own business. (i don't drive so i walk or take public transportation most of the time- so i can completely relate to "foot misery.")

pinktoesjb

Long walks are my thing and I did train for this. I have been icing it for about half an hour at a time so I will cut that down, thanks.

I just don't want to go to the doctors unnecessarily- obviously I'm expecting some discomfort I just wasn't quite ready for this!

mother_war

completely understand. i hope you feel some relief from it, and you don't have to go to the doctor. have you tried using epsom salt, or one of various additives that have minerals in it? depending on what is in it, it could help a little. (not that this matters, but i was hit by a car a year ago and had all sorts of broken things/ muscle related ailments, and i found some mineral salt products that have had clove added into it and relieved some discomfort.)

twinsanity

It almost sounds like a stress fracture. I had the same thing happen to me, but due to far less walking than a full marathon. My doc told me that sometimes when you're doing a lot of walking and stressing the feet, it can cause a stress fracture. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything they could really do for it. It just had to heal on it's own. I highly recommend getting it looked at, though, because if it needs treated, you want to make sure you get it treated. Might I add....GREAT JOB on the marathon walk!!!!

kmbrooks15

I know you're reluctant to go to the doctor, but if you leave it untreated and you have some type of injury, you could end up in worse shape later on (like having to have surgery or some other craziness). Better a quick visit now to have it checked and properly treated (improper treatment can make things worse, too!).

Let us know what happens!