With every step you run, your feet help you maintain balance and forward propulsion in conjunction with other body parts, but they have to withstand the brunt of the impact. As a result, you may experience injuries in the form of stress fractures, plantar fasciitis, heel spurs, or sesamoiditis, according to the American Academy of Podiatric Sports Medicine. Appropriate footwear and a sound training regime can decrease your chances of recurring foot injuries.
Stress Fractures
Stress fractures are small cracks in bones that occur with over-training and repeated high impact activity like running. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons lists common sites for foot stress fractures as the second and third metatarsals, the calcaneus, more commonly known as your heel, and the navicular, a bone on the top of your mid-foot. You may notice pain with any weight-bearing activity, swelling, tenderness and even bruising with foot stress fractures.
Plantar Fasciitis
Plantar fasciitis is a painful, inflammatory condition affecting your arch, specifically the plantar fascia, a fibrous band of tissue that spans from your heel to the ball of your foot. Running barefoot or in unsupportive shoes can cause excessive stress on the bottom of your foot. Over-pronation of your foot when running or increasing your running frequency, duration or distance too fast may also be the culprit when plantar fasciitis appears and reappears.
Heel Spurs
Heel spurs, or bone spurs, can occur with chronic inflammation of connective tissue around the heel. Because running produces significant stress on your feet, continued tension and tearing of tissue, and not the spur itself, is usually the cause of heel pain, according to Dr. Stephen Pribut, clinical assistant professor of surgery at the George Washington University Medical Center. If you have osteoarthritis, a degenerative condition that results in joint cartilage breakdown, you may also develop heel spurs.
Sesamoiditis
You have two small sesamoid bones on the underside of each forefoot near your big toe. These bones are connected to tendons. Due to the weight-bearing nature of running and constant pushing off from the balls of your feet, these tendons can become inflamed causing sesamoiditis, a form of tendonitis that is common among runners. You may have pain, swelling and bruising on one or both feet under your big toe or across the balls of your feet.
Recommendations
Recurring foot injuries from running are usually the result of poor footwear and improper training methods. Wear running shoes with sufficient heel, arch and forefoot support. Gradually increase your running frequency and duration, and remember to perform stretches for your arches and heels. Roll your foot over a tennis ball or soup can, or use a massage stick for a dynamic stretch and pain relief. Rest, ice and elevate your feet when they're inflamed, and then have a doctor evaluate your condition.
References
- American Academy of Podiatric Sports Medicine: Running and Your Feet
- American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons; Stress Fractures of the Foot and Ankle; July 2009
- Mayo Clinic; Bone Spurs; Jan. 5, 2010
- Dr. Pribut's Running Injuries Page; Plantar Fasciitis and Heel Spurs; Stephen M. Pribut, D.P.M.
- American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons; Sesamoiditis; December 2001
- "Natural Health"; Ask The Experts; Arnold Ravick, D.P.M.; April 2008
- "Clinical Reference Systems – Sports Medicine Advisor"; Plantar Fasciitis; Relay Health; October 2010
