Is it time to see a doc, or keep waiting?

[scedastic]

Sorry if this is long.

I developed soreness in my feet, and in one foot in particular, after about 3 long runs (for my current level) and in wet, partially packed, slushy snow, ending with a long and gruelling run on Jan 9. (we're talking 5-7 miles each). I had been progressing quickly and with no soreness or pain in my feet up to that point, and was up to 20-28 miles/wk, bf when the weather permitted or in socks indoors, or in mocs outside in the cold (so mostly in mocs for december/january). All three runs that caused soreness were in soft star mocs, which I'm now thinking encouraged me to dorsiflex too much to grab the shoe and the snow (since the shoes are very wide and floppy on me), as well as general form issues and challenges from running in the snow/in shoes. The last run I should have turned back home from, since I wasn't expecting snowy sidewalks (I'm talking up to 1ft of snow), and I was already a bit sore from the day before.



Since that time, I have not run (.5 miles here or there, just to check, and bf or in thin socks), to try to allow the soreness to heal. At first, there was also some achilles tightness, which went away in about a week.

The soreness feels mostly like TOFP (from what I've read). It's a bit tight in the am, better as the day goes on, a little sore after exercise (I do elliptical and weights), but doesn't feel great to walk on. I'd say uncomfortable, but no shooting pain or throbbing.



No swelling, flexing feels good, no pain to the touch or massage. Standing on the balls of my feet feels okay. Walking is not usually great. Sometimes more sore than others.

The issue is that while things seem to be slowly getting better, it feels very slow (getting near 1 month and still not able to run) and I'm wondering whether I need to have this immobilized. I tried 0.5 mi bf on the track the other day, and it felt okay during the run, but was more sore the next day than it had been.

Is there any way it could be a stress fracture? If so, do I need a brace/cast? Can pulled stuff heal without being immobilized?

If it's not, can I just keep waiting it out, or do I need a doc? I want to avoid a boot, if I can heal on my own. I tried wearing some of my old 'regular' shoes from before my more minimal days, but they felt horribly uncomfortable and seemed to make my foot feel worse.



Also, there are no bf friendly docs in my area (from the map and from the ones I know of), so I'm reluctant to bother going to a doc unless I really need xrays/immobilization/etc.

Any thoughts??

 

[fast2fun]

It sounds to me like stress

It sounds to me like stress fracture from too long too soon. Top of foot pain ties in with stress to foot and bones. I went through this and the doc took about an inch think sole and cut out under the toe that tied into the stress fracture and no running for 8 weeks. Bone needed to heal. I was a 90% fracture and it does not sound like you are that bad. Either go to doc or just don't do much until pain is gone. If you keep injuring it, it will never heal. Good luck!

 

[scedastic]

So a stress fracture can heal

So a stress fracture can heal without being cast/booted?



Also, I went on nd on, but didn't say much about where the soreness is. It's not localized. It's just sort of all over sore on the top of the foot above the metatarsals, and sometimes a little achy under the ball of the foot. But never just in one spot. Can that still be a stress fracture? Does it matter, if things will heal, given enough time?



Also, am I making it worse by doing any exercise, or is just avoiding running ok?

 

[scedastic]

Oh, and one more thing

Oh, and one more thing (because yeah, I know I didn't say enough already),

I don't know if that matters, but the last month before the bad runs, my toes really started splaying in an accelerated fashion (this is at about 4 months transition). They used to be way scrunched up, now I can see space between all but the last and pinkie toes. I also have a big bunion on the most sore side and a medium bunion on the not so sore side. Yeah. Shoes really deformed my feet.

 

[barnarddale]

I have very similar symptoms, and a trip to the doctor, then the xray place, then an orthopedic surgeon informed me that yes, it's a 3rd metatarsal stress fracture, and it had mostly healed on its own despite lingering pain after 3 months. Frustrating having this pain, but I'm like you--I don't know whether I can continue exercising or whether I need to keep wearing my backpacking megaboots everywhere.

 

[randicoot]

Have you tried icing it? 2 months after I started BFing I upped the miles too much and had some pain around the 4th metatarsal. It wasn't unbearable--I'd say 6 out of 10-- and it lasted all winter. Then in spring I iced it twice a day for about 2 weeks and it was gone. To gauge how bad it was, I could massage the area and the pain would go away temporarily and if I held each end of the bone and torqued it there was still no pain. I assumed if it was fractured that would hurt a lot more.

 

[scedastic]

Just wanted to update those who may be interested in this injury, which still seems a little different from others I've read about.
A little more than a week after I posted this thread(so about 5-6 weeks after the injury started), the pain began subsiding quite rapidly, and I started running again, taking it easy, and only bf or in thin socks on a hard track at my gym, no shoes, and no more snow running for the remainder of the winter.
I ran 7 days last week(I know, no rest days, but it felt so good to run again!), doing no more than between 10 minutes and 30 minutes at a time, at about a 9 minute pace or better(that's faster than I usually go, fyi, and pathetically), and it's almost as though nothing ever happened, just a little bit of tiredness in my feet this morning. Walking in snow in min shoes has also caused my feet a bit of tiredness the next day, but nothing big.
I did no icing, no stretching, no babying of any kind (because I'm lazy).
All I did was avoid walking as much as possible,because that's when it hurt the most, and no running until it felt better.
Who knows, I just hope it doesn't come back or become chronic.