When you run, you place significant stress on the muscles, tendons, ligaments and bones in your legs and feet. If you run too much or run without proper form, these stresses can trigger a variety of running-related injuries. Running-related pain in your feet or tendons can stem from a number of specific causes.
Heel and Arch Pain
If you have pain in the arch of your foot or on the bottom of your heel while running, you may have a condition called plantar fasciitis. In runners and other athletes, this disorder is triggered by frequent stress on a ligament called the plantar fascia, which runs along the bottom of your foot from your heel to the base of your toes. In some cases, plantar fasciitis may also stem from excessive pronation or inward tilting of your foot. Runners and other athletes may also develop painful bone deposits, called bone spurs, on the bottom of the heel bone.
Nerve Damage
When runners compress or irritate the nerve tissue in their feet, they can develop a painful nerve thickening called a neuroma. The most common form of this disorder, called Morton's neuroma, appears in the nerve that runs between your third and fourth toes. Individuals with heightened risks for neuroma development include those with common foot deformities such as flat feet, hammertoes, bunions and abnormally flexible feet. Women runners who habitually wear pointed-toed shoes or high heels also have increased neuroma risks.
Tendon Pain
If you habitually run uphill or tilt your foot inward when you run, you may develop a painful overuse injury in your Achilles tendon, which extends from your calf muscles to your heel. If you temporarily inflame this tendon, you will develop a condition called Achilles tendonitis. If overuse triggers degeneration of the tendon tissue, you have a condition called Achilles tendonosis. Running can also trigger pain and loss of function in the posterior tibial tendon, which normally helps form the arch in your foot. These symptoms are part of a disorder called posterior tibial tendon dysfunction, or adult-acquired flat foot.
Considerations and Additonal Causes
Pain in your foot during running can also result from stress fractures, damage to the sesamoid bones in your toes and a ligament disorder called capsulitis of the second toe. Children and teenagers who run may develop a condition called calcaneal apophysitis or Sever's disease, which occurs when repetitive stress damages the growth plate in the calcaneus or heel bone. If you have pain in your feet or tendons that appears related to running, consult your doctor or an orthopedic specialist for a proper diagnosis and appropriate follow-up treatment.
References
- American Academy of Podiatric Sports Medicine: Running and Your Feet
- American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons: Running and Track Injuries to the Foot and Ankle
- American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons: Female Runners at Risk for Painful Neuromas
- Sports Injury Clinic: Achilles Tendinitis (Tendinopathy)
