Aching in the arches of my feet ?

Hey guys, last Saturday I completedd my first ParkRun after 5 weeks building up to it, so yes I am a newbie image

During about the 3rd or 4th km the arches of my feet began aching, until it got to the point where I had to stop and let them calm down.. I went to a running shop and was advised on getting some insoles because I have been told I have high arches. I put them in and today was my first run with them. 

After about 3k they began aching again!, it also seems that when the arches begin to ache my body compensates by running off them slightly, which makes the other side of my foot hurt too.. sort of like a high pressure feeling.

So my question is, what do I do? Maybe I have a bad style? Should I try barefoot running on some grass a couple of times a week? I heard that sometimes fixes running inneficiences. 

Thanks for your help in advance guys and girls image

Comments

  • I would say that you would be better off using massage and gentle stretching on your arches, as if they are high i am assuming that the foot muscles are naturally quite tight.
    Also sometimes if you have tight calf muscles this can cause referred pain in the arches of the foot, so try stretching and massage of the calf muscles too.
    (make sure all stretching is done on warm NOT cold muscles though!).

    Barefoot running can be good for you, and can strengthen your foot muscles, but should not be seen as a 'fix-all' for running inefficiencies image

  • well done on the parkrun by the way, keep it up!image

  • Thanks for the speedy reply!

    Hopefully you are right, sorry to bother you again but how often should I be doing the stretching/ massage? Im also not 100% sure on techniques etc. so I wold be extremely gratefull if you could expand on that.

    Thanks for the kind words ! image

  • When i have had problems that need to be treated in that way, i have always found that as often as possible works best! But usually with other commitments that translates to about twice a day, morning and evening. stretch, then massage, then ice is the way i find it works best.

    foot stretch - Sit in a chair and cross one foot over your other knee. Grab the base of your toes and pull them back toward your leg until you feel a comfortable stretch. Hold 15 seconds and repeat three times.

    calf stretch - normall standing calf stretch will do fine.

    You can massage the arch of your foot effectively with a tennis ball, roll your foot over the tennis ball concentrating on any tight spots. this can be done quite happily while watching tv!
    Calf muscles I find are massaged best either by someone else, or by using a foam roller (one of those things that is worth trying to borrow first before you buy one - maybe someone at parkrun will have one you can borrow) or even a rolling pin!

    I am not saying that you should stop wearing orthotics and I am not saying that you should not try barefoot running, that is not for me to advise on, but i do think that treating the muscles in this way should see some improvement.

  • Give it more time to let it properly recover.

    If I understand, you've did the 5k park run on Saturday 15th where you had enough foot pain to force you to stop, and it's still hurting when you ran on it today. If you're anything like me than you probably ran harder and faster than before as it was an event and that in itself will take your body some time to recover from.

    Massage will help. If you do want to try barefoot running, start with a very small diatance (a few hundred metrers even) and increase very gradually. 

    Give it more time to recover, if you rush the recovery you run the risk of further injury. Even a bruise will take more than 3 days to heal.  

  • yeh ditch the moonboots and get running in minimalist shoes

    also a golf ball works way better than a tennis ball for massageimage

  • Good advice in this thread!



    It's just because you're a newby. It's not just the muscles in your legs that will strengthen over time, but those in your abdomen, lower back, your ligaments, tendons, joints and even bones.



    Give them time to do this before you decide you like running and want to enter a half-marathon image
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