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pain on top of foot
Hi folks,
Just when things were ticking along nicely something always comes along and bites you on the ar$e. I was running on friday of last week when i felt an uncomfortable feeling like my laces were to tight on the boney bit on the top of my left foot when it struck the tarmac. I immediately checked my laces and tried to pull my tongue out( on my trainers, not my head) but they all seemed fine, so continued with the run in a little discomfort. When i got home it was a little swollen and tender but ok to walk on.
I gave it rest over the weekend and went out monday, tried it on grass to reduce the stress and it was a little better but i could still feel it. Then to last night, went back to the road running and it was fine for the first 5 minutes then back with a bang, the pain everytime my left foot hit the ground so i cut the run short and headed home to ice it.
Sorry for the long story but i was just wondering if anybody has experienced anything like this and what would you recommend as a course of action. I am thinking of going to a sports injury clinc in my area to find out exactly what the problem is. I know they are expensive but i have some races upcoming i was training for that i am guessing i will have to miss now. Also i have had a gait analysis done when i got my trainers but would a second opinion hurt there as ive never really felt comfortable in these trainers.
Any help would be greatfully received,
cheers.. one depressed runner 
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Comments
also switch to elastic laces as that helps the foot expand inside the shoe better than normal laces - and they mean you never have to tie laces again!
PS I have heard lots of people get this from the way they tie their laces - there's an article you'll find if you search which shows different ways and lots swear by it.
Thanks guys, i will give it a week and see how it is after some calf stretches.
Oh yes I have just had this. It went on and off for a while, and in the end I saw a podiatrist. She hadn't seen anything like it before, but to be honest when I saw her the worst pain from the top of the foot had gone. She manipulated my foot and it went click and after a bit more rest it has been fine (touching lots of wood as I am training for the marathon). She also found some tightness in the muscles on my lower shin which she thought was pulling on the tendons a bit. She did a bit of acupuncture to release it. i now stretch a lot more and use elastic laces and things are looking up. I ice it after every run as a precaution too. Good luck, its flippin' annoying isnt it!
Yes its very annoying, one of the hardest things is to know how long to leave it before making a comeback, its so frustrating when all you want to do is run and you cant. Come back to soon and you know it could make the problem worse.
Thanks for the advice people.
Of course me being me, I went and did in my ITB 2 days later but that is another story
first it was my right foot, which cleared up after about 2 weeks and has been (touch wood) OK since, and now i've got it in my left foot
when i pull my toes back the tendon/ligament feels like it's "creaking"
hopefully it will clear up soon because it's certainly very frustrating
Hi All,
I think I'm suffering from the same foot issue- mine has just come about this weekend after a 25k run...just wondering if any of you experienced the foot pain when just walking around & not specifically when running? ..Mine foot still hurts when I'm not wearing any shoes.. I'm not sure weather to go to the physio or maybe a podiatrist ? Also, I'm training for LDN marathon & really don't want to stop my training.. Thoughts? …
The Borne, that is exactly how mine felt, the foot felt very creaky and and like something needed to click. When I saw the podiatrist she said the tendons felt really tight, manipulated it and then it did click and th relief was instant. I still rested it for a few more days as it was sore, and touch wood its been ok ever since.
KatieL , I too am training for the marathon and didnt want to miss training but with hindsight should have rested for longer. The pain only happened when running, walking and cycling were fine, which is why I didn't rest for long enough. Mind came on after a particularly hard week of high mileage so I have learned my lesson and stepped down onto an easier schedule (Hal Higdon Int I rather than II). While not running I kept up the training time on my bike and then saw the podiatrist. I think you should see a specialist to get a proper diagnosis if it still hurts while walking around, it may save you some time and mean you can get back training sooner. Good luck.
p.s. did anyone find that the pain altered how you walk?
I found that the affected foot would not heel-to-toe properly, my foot would rather slap down on the floor rather than roll. The same as when my Dad suffered from sciatica.
I to are suffering from this foot pain. Wish i had looked in earlier, you guys could have saved me a lot of heartache. I did some research on the web and was thinking i had a metatarsal stress fracture.
After some more research i found a problem called the "Inflammation of the Extensor tendons". Which as already described is linked to either tying your shoes too tight, which i sometimes do as i run in the woods etc a lot. Or not stretching the calf properly. I have started to stretch my calf's and have seen a massive improvement in a day.
I also feel the change in shoes could add to the problem. I have always used Kayano's, recently i started to break in a pair of 15's for the VLM, they lace up slightly different to all the other models as they sort of go across the foot. Could be a link there.
Same for me as above. At one point it was happening when walking. I saw a podiatrist who said I had tight calf's. Also got some orthotics. During this process I have had a dodgy hip which someone else mentioned.
Has anyone had pain in both feet or is it always one?
It happens to me when I have not worn my bicycling shoes for awhile, or if I wear them too tight, and then once inflamed hurts in almost any shoes I wear. The foot often seems ok until about a mile or so into a run, then the pain will start, but then again go away after 2-4 more miles - but then the area will be sore and sensitive to pressure after the run (sometimes for days).
I have used some creative lacing schemes and also used mole foam padding with a cutout over the nerve to reduce pressure from the shoe on that area when running, and that helps a lot with acute pain and speeds recovery. Elastic laces may also help, because I have some shoe with elastic laces that do not cause pain even during an intense flare-up. I'm planning to add some extra padding with a cutout to the tongue of my cycling shoes.
I have had flareups on both feet, but these days it's mostly my right foot.
Went away immediately after changing to NB.
The point for me is to change anything and everything if something comes up or is niggling away. If I'm wearing extra cut-outs under my inserts, I take them out (or the reverse). And then running "from" the knees (rather than being too conscious of the feet hitting the road) makes a good amount of difference too.
CHange something !
hth
It's a good idea to have a specialist check it out, because if it's a ganglion cyst, they can aspirate the fluid from it, and there is a good chance you'll get immediate relief and be right back out there (although it's likely to recur, requiring aspiration again in the future).
I hope it's something simple like that plaguing you, because tendinitis takes a long time to heal, neuropathy (numbless loss of control, drop foot), arthritis, and a small handful of other things that can require more invasive treatments can also strike on the top of the foot.