Do your feet suffer after running?
Do your feet suffer after running?
Your feet are complicated structures, composed of bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments and nerves that are “designed” to work together as a team. However, if one team member stumbles, it can impede the functioning of the rest of the foot. With time it will also end up affecting other areas of the body as adjustments are made to keep you moving forward.
There are various areas of the foot where you may experience pain after or even during a run, these may involve one or more of the following:
- Arch of the foot – experienced as a stabbing or burning pain, especially first thing in the morning when you step out of bed. Running may initially ease the pain to a tolerable level, however returns afterwards. If this sounds familiar, you may have plantar fasciitis, a condition typically associated with tight arches, calf muscles, or overpronation (when feet roll inwards, common among those with flat feet).
- Top of foot – along with pain you may also notice swelling in this area or even a large bump. The cause could be extensor tendonitis, a condition linked with tight calf muscles, overtraining, falling foot arch, doing a lot of uphill training, tying your laces too tightly, wearing poorly fitting shoes or pressure points (possibly caused by bunched up socks).
- Front of foot/toes – numbness or ‘pins and needles’ (that is unrelated to cold weather), could be the result of tying your laces too tight, wearing shoes that are too tight, or tight muscles causing poor running form and putting pressure on the nerves and restricting blood flow.
- Side of foot – felt on the inside or outside of the foot, is usually due to tendonitis (inflammation of a tendon) brought about with overuse, increasing activity too quickly or improper running shoes. If related to tendonitis, the pain will generally build slowly over time, tending to be worse in the morning and with activity.
It is important to seek the assessment of a professional practitioner such as our highly experienced Physiotherapists at Hoppers Physio, as the cause of your pain could also be a fracture, which could fracture further if left untreated. To relieve your feet’s suffering contact our friendly Hoppers Crossing practice to schedule an appointment on (03) 9749 5110.