What is "soft tissue pain"?

[Footsie]

I read somewhere recently that "soft tissue pain" in the foot, like bone pain, was to be taken seriously. My problem is I am not sure what is meant by "soft tissue"!

It can't mean simple muscle ache, surely, so what else should I be looking out for? Some writers say achy soles of feet in the morning are a sign of PF, others seem to think it's "growing pains" and nothing to worry about, even for 6-9months.

I know this is a really vague question, but can anyone suggest more specifically the type of bad "soft tissue pain" I should be wary of? Or where I can find the info?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Barefoot TJ]

I think you should be wary of any pain, soft or hard. I have always understood soft tissue is anything that is not bone, such as muscles, tendons, ligaments, cartilage.

If you think you might have an injury, please feel free to post this in the Ask the Docs forum as well. Good luck to you!

 

[Footsie]

Thanks TJ - I wouldn't say that I have any pain as such, more very mild discomfort/achiness in the soles of the feet after waking (like other bits of my body feel when I've just dragged myself out of bed). goes away after a minute on my feet.

But that's the thing: what does pain feel like that we should be worried about? Impossible question to answer, I know!

Anyway - now have easily identifiable tenderness in the form of a freshly scuffed toe so I can stop worrying in theory ;-)

 

[Barefoot TJ]

Is the tenderness from the scuffed toe the same as what you originally wrote about concerned?

In the beginning, some people experience foot tenderness/weakness in the morning that fades after a few steps or a few minutes. For some it goes on for weeks or even months. I had this for a little while myself in the beginning, but then it disappeared. I think Jonny just wrote about this in his first barefoot marathon post, that after about nine months he finally no longer deals with this in the morning. I think it has to do with our feet/bone structure/muscles, etc., changing and adapting. There are a lot of changes going on with the feet when we choose to use them differently.

If you have pain, not achyness, in those first steps in the morning AND you find that you have trouble walking without pain later in the day (meaning you've been on your feet for awhile that day), then I would start to suspect PF.

 

[Footsie]

No, what I was referring to in my post is more like the ache you and the other poster also encountered. I was nervous to start with but now think it just falls into the "growing pains" category, which is reassuring!

 

[Barefoot TJ]

I hope it is just growing pains.