Ankle pain when running. Help please.

draculaspointer

A little background: I am a 24 year old healthy female. 5'6, 134 pounds. I started running in April and had my first 100 mile month in August. My long runs are currently about 10 miles and I do a short day (2 miles), medium day (6 miles) and mid/long day (8 miles) during the week, and the long run on Sunday. Have had and dealt with various injuries since beginning, the worst was hip flexor pain on my left hip. While dealing with the hip flexor issues, a new one started which I cant seem to get rid of. My left ankle starting acting strange one evening AFTER a 4 mile run. I was walking home (about .25 mile) and my ankle kept...freezing...Im not sure how to explain it. Maybe locking. I would get an intense pain and have difficulty moving it. But it didnt hurt to run or even act up during the run. The first night it happened I didnt think much of it, there wasnt any swelling or lingering pain and it didnt happen again for a few weeks.

Then as I was working on the hip flexor issues, doing slow runs with stretch breaks and all those funny looking hip exercises, the ankle pain came back during a 5 mile run. It was a sharp pain somewhere on the outside of my ankle under, or inside, the "bump". It happened every time I landed on the foot. It would start about 3 miles into the run and come and go for the rest of the run. It never hurt right at the beginning, and never was bad enough pain to keep me from running. I always iced it after runs when it hurt.

This last Sunday, it hurt like crap! From the very first step and up to about mile 6 it hurt. Then it went away for a few miles, and returned for the last quarter mile and the half a mile walk home. I iced it when I got home and it didnt hurt the rest of the day which included walking and hiking. But it has been very sore since then. I tried to run 2 miles on Tuesday, and was able to do it, but was in pain the whole time. Ran 2 miles on Wednesday and called it quits because the pain was worse and just wouldnt go away. I skipped my evening run Wednesday. Yesterday I went to talk the dogs and just wanted to try to run. So I would run about 10 steps and stop. Now, not only was the pain in the original spot where it was, but the inside of the ankle hurts too. The inside of the ankle feels more like muscular pain though.

I cannot pinpoint a spot that hurts when pressing on it or running my fingers over it. I have full range of motion and no pain unless I am running (or a slight pain going up stairs). Does anyone know if this is something to just "run through" that will work itself out, or if it could be really bad? I have a half marathon in 8 weeks and am really worried about. Any ideas/help would be great!

FYI, Ill be going to the doctor next week if it doesnt feel better after this weekend.

mlb929

I do Brazil Butt Lift daily for my hip strength, I was in Physical Therapy for 3 months for hip weaknesses, which is somewhat genetic (I have no butt) and somewhat from just simply wearing out the muscles running. Runners commonly have glute weaknesses and need to work harder on this area to stop imbalances.

My hip issues were also solve by a great massage therapist. He did and active release technique on my hips and pelvic area, which made a major difference. I see him regularly for stretching of areas I can't get on my own no matter how hard a try. I use a rumble roller instead of a regular foam roller, it makes a major difference. I got mine from amazon.

As far as the ankle goes, it is likely IMO from heel striking. I ran a trail race a few weeks ago, and was running on railroad ties, it was terrible. My ankle locked up, swelled, etc, mainly from heel strike landing on uneven surfaces for me. I again, worked with my massage therapist. He got in deep and loosened the band that goes across the top of my ankle. It wasn't something I could do on my own. It was in essence a sprain, which I've torn the ligaments in that ankle numerous times as a kid.

Work on stretching it - there are several way - Stand with on leg in front of the other barefoot, and roll to the outside and inside of the front foot, and repeat on the other side. You also stand in the uneven stance and put the foot behind you - roll from the top of the foot around, clockwise, then switch for the opposite direction. There are videos on youtube, look up ankle stretches.

It could be your shoes, depending on wear, you may need new ones - I generally alternate a few pair a time based on my distances, and the wear on the shoes, I replace mine around 400-500 miles, sometimes less is recommended. You could need a stability shoe, when you are in a neutral, or your wearing a stability and need a neutral, any running store can help you. People change over time as well so what you started with may not be what you need now.

draculaspointer

I forgot to mention: I started in cushioned neutral shoes and after about 2 months switched to a stability shoe. The ankle pain started about about 6 weeks after switching shoes.