4/02/2010 – Help Im Injured!

At some point in your running hobby you will become injured. It is very frustrating not to be able to run and as time goes by you may wonder whether you will ever run again.
I became injured when I decided to buy a new pair of trainers in the Christmas sales. I didn’t really need a new pair but I love to shop so off I went. I had a gait analysis in a specialist running shop and came away with a top of the range new pair of trainers, £30 cheaper in the sales. I was advised that I could go running in them straight away and would not need to break them in at all. I was a bit silly as I ran half a mile further in them on the road than I had done in my previous trainers. Because of all the snow I had not run on the road for some time, just doing five mile runs on the treadmill. I did this twice and felt a little niggle under the ball of my right foot. I also got some serious blood blisters. This didn’t put me off as I often have little niggles in various parts of my body whilst running, once I am home they disappear. So, I went and did some more running, on the treadmill this time as the snow was back. After the first run my foot was aching but I went out the next day and ran further on the treadmill. This was on the 10th January this year. This is the last run I have done since that day.

My foot was aching under and above the fourth toe on my right foot in two places and I knew that I had to stop running. I had a previous injury to my right foot about one year ago when I started walking to college and back, a sudden change in how far I was walking and in boots that had no arch support. At that time I didn’t know that I over-pronated (when feet roll in towards each other as you walk or run). My arches were literally collapsing on the flat sole of my shoe and had trouble picking up again. I limped for about two months with this injury and I hadn’t even started running at the time. I went to the doctors and he referred me to a podiatrist. Once the appointment came through the injury had healed but I decided to go anyway as I was curious to what had caused it. The podiatrist made me some insoles for my shoes/boots and that was that. These insoles made a massive difference to what shoes I could wear, for example high heels have always been a no no for me but with the insoles I could tolerate them.

However, as I had already been referred to the podiatrist I called him and got an appointment straight away this time. He was also a runner so understood my frustration and treated it very seriously. When I told him of my new trainers causing this injury he quickly explained the brand of trainers I bought in the sale where not really good stability trainers anymore, (stability trainers help over-pronators as they have good arch support to stop feet rolling inwards and collapsing, causing injury). He explained that they used to be good for stability but over the years had become more neutral.  I told him that in the gait analysis they appeared to control my over-pronation but he advised me that the feet are too complex for a gait analysis to give an accurate picture of how feet perform. For instance I have quite a high arch but this collapses once walking or running, I also have bunions on both feet which means that once my foot has hit the floor collapsing my arch my big toes become locked, which means that my other toes have to raise my foot off the floor. These other toes are obviously smaller than my big toe and are not meant to take all the pressure when moving. This is what caused my foot injury. The new trainers were simply not supportive enough in allowing my arch support so my big toes wouldn’t collapse on hitting the floor.

I don’t blame the shop as they did as much as they could do. I did go back though, as they have a 30-day guarantee on any trainers, so you can run in them and take them back if they aren’t right for you. This time I thought I would get it right.
My old trainers gave me no problems at all except that my bunions would throb after a run. I was used to this happening though, even when I had walked only a short distance. It had been going on for years but I had never seen anyone about it before.  When I went back to the shop I asked for a pair of stability trainers with a wide toe box so my bunions could swell and not rub against the sides of the shoes. With another gait analysis, this time with the manager who was a lot more experienced, I finally chose another pair of trainers. I only got to wear these twice before the injury became too severe to run any more.
The podiatrist advised me that my new trainers were much better than the ones I had bought in the sale and would probably suit me better. He did advise though as my foot tended to completely collapse on hitting the floor he would make me some more aggressive orthotics just for running. This involved taking out the soles of my trainers and instead inserting the new orthotics. Two weeks later though I still had pain and hadn’t been able to run.

Back at the podiatrist’s he hooked me up to a machine that would measure the pressure on the ball of my foot to see if the orthotics were working. It turned out that the orthotics did in fact lessen the pressure enough for the injury to heal. It was a mystery that the injury had in fact, got worse.
I admitted that throughout the last few weeks I had been cross-training at the gym regularly, (using other means of training except running). I was very limited as to what I could actually do so I swam a lot and did some weights. I knew that I couldn’t use a bike or a cross-trainer as I knew both machines would use some foot impact. Even the rower would need foot involvement! I don’t really like any of these machines anyway so I opted for some low impact aerobics. While the others were bouncing around I just marched and stuck with the easy options. Swimming was good for cardio exercise but I am not a great swimmer and cannot swim fast.
Once I told the podiatrist this he said I should probably abstain from any exercise at all for a few weeks then go back slowly. I had been wrong to cross-train so regularly, I was going to the gym every night and doing nearly two hours there to keep up my fitness level. Most of the classes were not doing it for me as I was used to such a high impact cardio sport so I did two of them back to back!

So now I have decided I will rest completely for one week then go back to swimming for two weeks then maybe take some spinning classes and do weights, then take some extra aerobic classes to see how I am, and then eventually run. I aim to be back running around the first few weeks of March. At least I will have missed the bad weather!
It is very hard for me to rest completely as I love keeping fit and get a real buzz from working out. But I must say a week off is going to be quite nice as no rushing to the gym as soon as I get home, no rushing to eat something to sustain me and taking extra food with me just in case. I will have loads more time to relax and see Eden and be able to read and chill out.
The podiatrist is making me some more aggressive insoles for when I run only and he says that I should be able to buy any trainers I want, remove their insoles and replace them with the new orthotics.
I have some Brooks Trance 8 at the moment, I have not been able to ascertain their suitability for me as I was already injured when I ran in them so I have not been able to take up the 30 day guarantee at the running shop, so will just have to keep them. They lace well (my old adidas ones were a right pain to get right, one foot always felt loose and I was forever re-lacing them). They also have a wide toe-box with flexible material around my bunions so should be perfect. Once I start running again with my new aggressive orthotics I should be ok. Failing that the podiatrist says that I will have to buy motion control trainers that are aggressively supportive but very heavy. Whatever I have to do I don’t care as long as I can run again! Wish me luck.

6/5/2011 - Army Training Course Needed!

 04/02/2011 – Hi There!

05/10/2010 - Morton’s Neuroma Madness!

21/08/2010 - The Wedding Journal

30/05/2010 - Running Free!!

06/05/2010 - Surprises Come In Podiatry Orthotics!!

15/04/2010 - Having Wheely Good Fun

22/03/2010 - Running Withdrawal

15/02/2010 - Swimming Towards Recovery

04/02/2010 - Help I’m Injured!