Spinter - can lead to metatarsalgia?

[Piggyback RidePlease]

I picked up a splinter little over a month ago in my left 1st (big) met' head pad. I dug around and couldn't find it. After 4 - 5 days the stabbing I was getting from the site subsided. I thought I was listening to my body as there was nothing I thought was a big deal and carried on BF running.

:sick:

One of the things that I'd noticed (just a few times) while not running was that I seemed to be moving my foot in such a way as to land it around the site rather than on it. I didn't think much of it at the time. A little later I wanted to go & try a new surface BF but it would have taken me over the miles I wanted to do. I decided to try some new huaraches out to get there. These were the kit type that have a knot under the 1st/2nd toe gap. On getting there in the Hs I took them off and almost right away had a big "lump" thing going on under my foot so bailed on the run.

That seemed to mostly vanish fairly quick but I've since had a mild residual "lump" that seemed to be somewhere from the 2nd to 4th met' head pads on the toe side. The sensation is a little vague and the toe the lump it's near seems to vary a little each day. I frequently don't notice it all day.

My conclusion is that not digging out (or at least letting the splinter site heal from my attempted excavation before more BF) lead me to move my foot incorrectly. I didn't really pay much attention to that at the time as it was quite subtle. The result is (I think) metatarsalgia. It's fairly mild and from what I've read I just need to take 10 - 14 days off the running and then re-introduce the BF running slowly.

My questions:

1) Do you think my diagnosis is correct?

2) Do you think my treatment is correct?

3) Should I attempt to re-excavate the site after all this time (~1 month)?

4) I've no idea how 2 weeks off BF running will affect my ability to cope with the same surfaces again. How much do you suggest I cut my runs down to when I re-start (I was up to a max of 3 BF miles)?

Obviously for 4) I'll run close to home so I can bail early if necessary but I am curious about peoples suggestions to see how it actually pans out.

 

[sloutre]

Questions 1 & 2: I have no

Questions 1 & 2: I have no idea

3: I would not re-excavate

4: Don't worry about it. I ran with minimalist shoes for the past 2+ month and yesterday the weather was dry enough to go barefoot and I ran 5 miles barefoot. I had no blisters, just a small hot spot. I had planned on going 3 miles but it felt so good that I kept going. I was running around the block, I went around like 15 times. It was fairly smooth concrete sidewalk, with 1 puddle, 1 area with loose thin gravel. I was amazed to feel so good.

Previously, my longest distance was 10 miles with a mix of bf and huaraches.

I'm starting to think that a lot of the tenderness we experience as beginners is caused by improper form and goes a way as we practice. Feet conditionning may not play such a big role. If you take 2 weeks off you may be able to start just where you left it. Maybe do 1.5 miles the first day to see how it feels and then you could go back to 3 miles. You can also carry socks or huaraches with you, in case you encounter particularly rough terrain.

 

[Piggyback RidePlease]

Nice to hear that

Nice to hear that conditioning lasts for a while. To me it almost feels like you "tune in" to the surfaces you've most recently been running on (at least as a beginner). I keep trying different surfaces, trying to build up an overall conditioning but I find when I re-visit old surfaces they sometimes surprise me that they're not quite as easy to cross as I thought (just by a small margin). :shock: Perhaps it's just in my head or perhaps I get complacent.