Hey guys! I hope that your week is going well. I have had a frustrating last two weeks because of a nagging pain in my foot. About a week and a half ago, I went for a nice 6 mile run. I felt fine during the run, but the very next morning, I noticed some pain in the outer portion of the top of my right foot. I occasionally do have some very mild foot pain, so I didn’t think anything about it. I figured it would just go away in a day like usual.
The pain didn’t go away, and it actually moved to a different part of my foot. It wasn’t extremely painful, so I decided to go for a short 2 1/2 mile run with my husband one afternoon. As I was running the pain was bad enough that I was forced to walk. It was hurting to the point where I was actually limping for a couple of days after that.
I took a few days off, then tried to do another short run again. The pain was milder than before, and I ran most of the 2 1/2 miles. When I tried to run again the next day, the pain was worse again. I finally had to admit to myself that I was officially on the injured list. The frustrating thing is that I had no idea what I’d done to injure my foot. My mileage has been really low lately, and it just didn’t make sense.
So, I went to Dr. Google to try and see if I could diagnose my problem. I didn’t have any swelling or bruising, but there was a spot just below my second toe on the top part of my foot that was really tender when I pressed on it. That was one of the symptoms of a stress fracture. Stress fractures are tiny cracks in a bone and are typically an overuse injury.
I kept searching and found another possible diagnosis. Extensor tendonitis. The tender spot on my foot when I press on it is exactly where the arrow is pointing to.
{Source}
Extensor tendonitis is also an overuse injury, but can be caused by shoes that are laced too tightly. Laces that are too tight can put a lot of pressure on the top of the foot resulting in inflammation of the tendons. Another cause of this problem is excessive tightness of the calf muscle.
I do tend to lace my shoes fairly tight, so this diagnosis sounds possible. I also read that the pain can be worse in the morning with extensor tendonitis. One of my symptoms is that the pain seems worse in the morning, and gets a little better later in the day. As long as I don’t run anyway. 🙂
Of course, that area also happens to be where the 2nd metatarsal bone is, which is a very common stress fracture site in runners.
I have decided to just rest and ice my foot a few times a day to see if that helps. I hate to go to the doctor, and I’m afraid that he would just tell me to do what I’ve been doing. If the pain doesn’t get better after a couple of weeks, I guess I will have to. I’m really hoping that it’s tendonitis and not a stress fracture.
The toughest part of all of this is the fact that I can’t run. I’m trying to be patient, and appreciate the fact that this is only a temporary thing, and that I will run again. I’d probably be a little better by now if I hadn’t run those last three times, but I’m pretty stubborn. Learn from my mistakes, people.
Have you ever had a stress fracture or extensor tendonitis?