Aug 22, 2010 4:18 PM
Outside heel pain - Random Welt + Soreness
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Hi,
First time poster. I began running about 9 months ago -- the results have been great.
During my last run, I got a little cute and incorporated some fancy footwork when making turns. (a little spin-move, which puts extra pressure on the side of the foot).
The following day, while walking home from work in office shoes, the outside portion of my left heel *pinched*. When I arrived home, I still went on my 30 minute run. Bad decision -- by the time I was done showering, it was impossible to stand barefoot on any hard surface. In using that "fancy footwork", did I pinch a nerve? Or pop a vein?
I wonder if my old, run-down office shoes are the culprit. The shoes have become very loose, and the soles feel pretty hard & flat.
In terms of my injured foot, the effected heel area has redness, and is a stiff swollen lump. It exists about an inch below the outside ankle, right near the edge of my foot's sole. It can't be massaged because it feels as painful as massaging a blister. Alternating ice and heat has helped immensely.
I'm thinking I can get back to running in a few days. Any ideas on what my injury is called?
No idea what that injury is called. I'd be careful of fancy spin moves. Running seems to be best done in the predictable plane you've been mostly training in. Venturing outside that plane too much in an aggressive manner, doing things your body isn't exactly accustomed to, I think can be a good predictor of an injury in the making.
For example, I'm recovering from a pretty substantial calf injury-with most of the pain after 3 weeks having finally been isolated to an area on the outside of the calf which I found on Saturday could also be isolated fairly well by modifying how I was planting my left foot. So, I also decided to try and be cute I suppose and went with that modified plant during a 5K race yesterday. Sure, I had what looked to be a great outing for someone recovering from a bad injury-but this morning I've now got a whole new area of soreness on a tendon in the back of the knee on the same leg-which I'm now pretty sure is because of using my nifty new foot plant at a 6:30 pace. I'm hoping also to be back in a few days now, and maybe I'll be a little smarter about playing it cute in the future. Probably not-we runners seem to have a knack for the cute and stupid.
I'm going to guess that you have a bone spur, probably the result of over training. You say that you've been running only 9 months, but that may be a sufficient amount of time.
Many runners (including me) have had to deal with plantar fasciitis, which basically is damage to the band of tissue running along the bottom of each foot. If the band gets too tight or inflamed, all sorts of misery follows. Among other things, a tight plantar fascia band can lead to a bone spur.
Take a look at these links to the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons and WebMD:
http://www.foothealthfacts.org/footankleinfo/heel-pain.htm -- plantar fasciitis
http://www.webmd.com/hw-popup/heel-spurs -- heel spur.
Good luck.

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"Victory through attrition!"
Charleston Half-Marathon 1/15/2011 -- 1:52:03
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Look into Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome.....inflamation = no heat Edit : if that welt is a "hot spot" check the shoes
I get this too on long runs:/
Thanks for the helpful information. It's been about a week now, and the red bump still exists. It's a bit less sore; the pain is most noticeable right after waking up in the morning.
From what I've read, my symptoms match up with something call a "stone bruise". I feel like I feel well enough to run today, but the visible bump scares me.
Now I'm thinking back to a few weeks ago when I accidentally pushed my foot down on the metal shower door lip. It could have all started then.
To the person who posted about not using heat -- I think they're right. The heat wasn't a very comfortable experience, but the ice was very soothing. Probably should nix the heat, if every website suggests taking "anti-inflammatory" meds.
Please feel free to post more personal experiences! I need your help!
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