Foot Injury-Can Barely Walk...Any Ideas?

[Gator]

Unfortunately this is my first post and it's about an injury. Little bit about my barefoot running life...I've been training and running in VFF since 2007. From 2007 till July I ran very little BF. In July I start slowly integrating BFR into my training. I built up to 5-6 miles (I know not great but I did not want to get injured) by October. I completely dropped VFF from my run training. So fast forward...

Today I ran my first BF race. Just a short 5k. It was relatively cold here (38 F) and this was my first time BFR in "colder" weather (i feel foreshadowing sneaking up on me as I type this). I ran as normal without any pain or discomfort until about a mile from the finish. I began to feel a pain in my right foot. Mostly on top but also on the bottom. Well I had to finish the race of course but I had to change my stride and landing to accomplish this. As I finished, I slowly warmed down and began limping a little. An hour later I could "walk" but with a considerable amount of pain and a embarrassing limp. So below are my symptoms now...

-Pain from the top and bottom of foot which seems to start from the third metatarsal and continues up and around the third dorsal interosseous

-Pain Continues up entire metatarsal

-Can not put weight on it unless I gimp around on my outer sole which is still painful

-Very painful to attempt to flex my foot up/down

-Some swelling; mostly on top of foot

-Pain is present even without any weight bearing

I think that is it. I've been elevating and icing. Attempting to stay off of it. I'm in the military and have to work tomorrow but not sure how I'm going to put a boot on (hahaha suck it up buttercup). Anyway...has anyone had these same symptoms. I've read around here and seen some similar things but figured I would get some insight from the experts. What I figured happen is this...my feet were colder than normal (but it didn't seem uncomfortable) and I changed the way I landed and didn't feel my mistake until about two miles into it. Any words of advice would be appreciated. Love the site.

Cheers,

Gator

Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful.
John Wooden

 

[C. Beth Run.]

I'm no expert, but just

I'm no expert, but just wanted to say I'm so sorry--how frustrating!!

 

[jschwab]

No clue, but I hope you

No clue, but I hope you figure it out soon.

 

[pbarker]

I would go see a

I would go see a Physiotherapist.. Hope everything is ok

 

[Gator]

 C. Beth-Thanks for the

C. Beth-Thanks for the thoughts...I read your ITB post. I feel for you also. Other than what you are doing already (working on your form, strength building exercises, stretching etc...) you might check out something as simple as a fish oil supplement. Definitely has helped me with inflammation. I don't take any supplements other than fish oil. Check out robbwolf dot com for some good information on fish oil and nutrition. Hope you ITB problem goes away soon.

Gator

 

[Abide]

Uh yeah something like that

Uh yeah something like that has happened to me, well twice actually. I iced, strecthed, rolled, and applied arnica religuously. I stopped running for a day or two, and went pretty slow for the next week or two, but that was it. It went away about three to four weeks later. I now also sork on strengthening my feet and calves and it seems to have stopped it from happening.

 

[C. Beth Run.]

Gator--I'll check into

Gator--I'll check into that--thanks!!

 

[Barefoot TJ]

Matt recommended I take Flax

Matt recommended I take Flax Oil and Flax Seed, so my hubby picked some up last night. To the oil, I say PUKE! I will be taking one teaspoon twice per day, whether I like it or not for my inflammation.

This sucks, Gator. Sorry you are going through this. Barefoot Ted says, "A numb foot is a dumb foot," and I guess we can all agree with him on that.

I hope it's not a fracture. Whatever you do, don't wear your military boots until you can confirm what is wrong. Tell your CO that you may have fractured it, and hopefully, he/she will understand. My ex-marine hubby would say, "Rub some mud in it," but I wouldn't; I would say baby it.

Thank you for your service to our country! You are much appreciated and respected.

 

[Barefoot Mary]

I'm just coming through

I'm just coming through similar pain: 3rd metatarsal, straight down the top of my left foot. I was also walking around on the outside of my foot for a while. Wore big cushy shoes to work. Hurt like a mother.

I got mine after an unusually long run. It only happened to my left foot - my right dog was feeling just fine. My theory was overstriding, really strains the top of your foot. But the cold weather could be a factor. Yeah, ice ice ice and keep off it. Now I'm moving back into running 1 mile at a time, and it's been 10 days since the injury. These feets are growing and it takes so long...must be patient.

I'm also much more new to minimal running than you, having started barefooting in July and running shod before that.

That's all I got! Hope you feel better soon!

 

[Joshh]

"Suck it up buttercup," made

"Suck it up buttercup," made me laugh. As far as internet communities go this one is on the hardcore side, without a doubt, so I'm sure that I'm not the only one feeling your pain Gator. Good luck with it and hopefully Jimmy will see this post before it gets buried.

 

[barefoot.zumba.runner]

Sounds like stress fracture

Sounds like stress fracture to me ( I came out of a stress fracture of second metatarsal mid July and your symptoms sound similar). Though given your transition and experience with minimal shoe running, 3yrs is a lot, not sure why you'd end up with a sf this late in the game. If you prod the bone, can you feel a sore spot?

 

[pbarker]

If it is a fracture you are

If it is a fracture you are way better off put some stiff shoes on and get it healed. There is a big difference in recovery times between a minor stress frac and a complete break. Until you know I would treat it like a fracture.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

I would prefer a "boot"

I would prefer a "boot" designed for this purpose though. I'm thinking heavy military boot means work, which he will no doubt be required to do.

 

[rdwhitaker]

Sounds a lot like a stress

Sounds a lot like a stress fracture I got. I think I got mine from bad form. I was trying to land on the balls of my feet but I was still trying to "stride out" (as my track coach used to say), so I ended up doing a kind of goose stepping. Needless to say, my feet took a pounding. I was holding up okay until I stepped in a hole in some grass and that did it. Fracture.

One way to confirm if its a stress fracture is to vibrate something on it. You'll know immediately if its a fracture because the vibration will kill ya! You can use a tuning fork (who still has those?) or a "personal use" vibrator (ask your wife or girlfriend what that is!)

 

[rdwhitaker]

Oh -- if it IS a stress

Oh -- if it IS a stress fracture, enjoy your 6 to 8 week vacation from running!

When I had mine, I could not stand to walk barefoot, and I could not stand to wear shoes to work.

The only think that worked for me were sandals.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

"personal use" vibrator (ask

"personal use" vibrator (ask your wife or girlfriend what that is!)

:shock:

 

[fetish4running]

It sure sounds an awful lot

It sure sounds an awful lot like a stress fracture. I'm just back in the saddle after a stress fracture and I have to agree with the advice to get your foot in a boot (I used a post-op shoe) as quickly as possible. I'm speaking from experience. I dinked around for 2-3 weeks, in complete denial that anything was seriously wrong. If I had immobilized my foot from the get-go, I would have healed much quicker.

TJ, your comment about a numb foot being a dumb foot makes sense and it worries me with winter quickly approaching. I feel like there's pressure on this forum from barefooters to be tough and run through the freezing cold. I'll go as far as I can in the cold, but I'll put something on my feet before I'll risk injury again!

 

[Barefoot TJ]

Well, I can't take credit for

Well, I can't take credit for that saying, that was Ted's.

I apologize to you and all of our members who have ever felt that they must be tough and suffer through the cold weather by remaining barefoot in order to be a considered a "true barefoot runner." That is not the message we send here. I always tell people to carry footwear, socks preferrably on a dry day or aqua socks, in case they find that the temps are just too cold for them to manage. It's not worth getting frost bite over or losing a few toes. That was why it was so important to me to get the Minimalist Footwear Review & Buyer's Guide out to the members before winter came. As barefoot runners, we need to run smart, and sometimes that means knowing when to put something on our feet. To live to run another day...barefoot...and all that.

Besides, I dare anyone to say that Ted is not a barefoot runner, that Jason is not a barefoot runner, that Ken Bob wearing the Nike Frees for that very short run erased every barefoot run he ever did prior to that.

 

[fetish4running]

Thank you for saying that,

Thank you for saying that, TJ, and I was certainly not saying that everyone does this. I just think we have some overly zealous barefooters who think that if you put shoes on, then you're not very tough or not very dedicated. Every now and then someone will ask what sort of shoe they should wear for winter time and inevitably someone responds with, "how 'bout just go barefoot? I can do it, blah, blah, blah."

Again, I apologize if it seemed as though I was accusing the entire forum. This is a wonderful place to get informed and ask questions. Sometimes egos get in the way, but that happens everywhere in life!

 

[Joshh]

How about TheRunningDude

How about TheRunningDude selling insurance on our forum? Too funny.