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Side of Foot Pain
I seem to have gained An injury to the outside edge of my foot, it seems to be between the base and halfway along the 5th metatarsal. I first noticed the discomfort a few days after a long trail race on very steep technical ground, there were no issues during, only a few days afterwards.
There's no discomfort in the ankle or swelling anywhere, I notice it when walking for more than a short distance, and mostly when there is pressure on the outside edge of the foot, this occurs mostly in some shoes, and if I roll my foot onto the outside edge. I can hop on it fine with no discomfort. if I move my foot to its limits I can sometimes feel a tugging/crunching type feeling in the area, no painful, just as if something is juddering.
I had a similar issue a few years ago which I continued to run on and it escalated, the doctor suggested in was tendinitis which took several months to recover properly.
I was wondering if anyone had had a similar issue? If so what is the best way to recover? does this seem like tendinitis?
I was thinking about using the cross trainer for the next few weeks while recovering, as it doesn't hurt if I stand on it unless wearing some narrower footwear, would this be better than resting completely? I have an Ultra in October so I would like to be able to maintain fitness and recover as quickly as possible. It seems odd that it occurred a few days after the race rather than during, is this a common occurrence?
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Comments
I have something very similar to this. Been to podiatrists and sports physios but so far, no one can give me an explantion. I'll be following this thread with keen interest in case anyone has any ideas!
Peroneal tendons attach around there. Peroneus longus and brevis attach to the 5th metatarsal base, while peroneus tertius attaches furthur along the shaft of the 5th metatarsal.
These muscles were probably working hard to stabilize your ankle during your trail run. It sounds like you get pain when you stretch or load these muscles so it's quite likely that's the problem. I'd be resting, icing etc and avoiding anything that's painful. Cross trainer should be fine but be careful running on uneven surfaces initially.
It's also a reasonably common place for a stress fracture so if it's not getting better go and see someone.
Good luck.
I agree with HA77 - sounds like the peroneals. If you poke around a couple of inches below your knee on the outside you may also find a tender area of muscle, which can then be massaged, which might help. Otherwise it's the usual rest and ice and if it continues go to a physio for graded exercises to improve proprioception and strengthen the ankle.
I've had a similar issue - side of foot randomly started hurting after a run. It was very sore for a couple of weeks then seemed to subside so I'm now cautiously running again. Physio couldn't identify any problem for me either.
I have something similar. Internet research suggests to that it is a strained Abductor Digiti Minimi muscle. It runs from heel or even back of angle to little toe. Apparently it is easily injured when running on uneven surfaces. Rest is supposed to be the cure, although I am currently putting that to the test as I type.