VFF Running Injury, Insight please... (was: BF running injury...)

bigblueonetwo

Barefooters
Apr 17, 2011
2
0
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:O So I've been running in my VFF for about 4 weeks now, taking it slow (only 1 to 2 miles at a time). Yesterday I let loose a little bit, running a little over 3 miles. During and now after the run I have this shooting pain in the middle of my foot whenever I put pressure on it. Any ideas?
 
You just over did it.  Ice it

You just over did it. Ice it and rest and you should be fine. By rest I mean no running and try not to walk much for about 3-5 days minimum. I would also contend that it wasn't just the three miler but potentially the runs you have done previous to that day. Starting out at a mile or two in vffs isn't taking it slow even though it may seem it. I've had some clients have to start with much less than a mile; all the way down to running a quarter mile bare or in vffs and then doing the rest of the run in a more conventional shoe.

If you are completely new to minimal running then you are in for an adjustment period that may be frustrating but in the end your running will be much improved so stick with it and listen to your body. Pain means rest, not push through.
 
And that good advice is from

And that good advice is from a guy who works in an urgent care treatment center.

I would suggest that once you heal, you ditch the VFFs and relearn how to run starting from scratch with your own bare skin, as it will help you to take it slow and easy until you can build up gradually. And don't worry, lots of people who run barefoot are able to run ultras and fast.

Now, can we please change the title of this thread to VFF Running Injury, Insight Please... ;-)

Speedy healing. Welcome!
 
welcome to the site,

welcome to the site, bigblueonetwo!

I did, as TJ suggested, edit the title. Many of us here have noticed that barefoot running is not quite the same as VFF running. While all the differences are not quite clear yet, some of us suspect that minimal shoes make it easier to heel strike and to do Too Much Too Soon. I'm not sure that's what happened to you, big blue, but definitely your body was sending you a message! Take it easy, and get well!
 
Barefoot TJ wrote:I would

Barefoot TJ said:
I would suggest that once you heal, you ditch the VFFs and relearn how to run starting from scratch with your own bare skin, as it will help you to take it slow and easy until you can build up gradually.

What she said!
thumbs_up.gif


I bought a pair of VFFs at first, realized they didn't fit my weird right foot correctly, returned them and have been running barefoot, very short distances 1-2 miles and one freak 3.18 mile distance once exuberant morning. I'm glad to not even own the VFFs anymore, knowing what I've learned so far about barefoot running. I'll admit I wouldn't mind the ability to run on hot pavement, but as good as barefoot feels, I'll just keep it to early mornings or late evenings for the time being.

Good luck and welcome!
 
Gikigas...if you keep running

Gikigas...if you keep running bare, your feet will adjust as the weather does ;-)...AND on trails there are no heat problems....sidewalks are cooler than asphalt...and the painted lines on asphalt (especially the white) are just fine ;-)....red brick sidewalks are the hottest...hotter than black asphalt :-D...FYI
 
Thanks for all the great

Thanks for all the great insight, I'm definitely new to the minimalist running culture (even mistook VFF for BF...lol), I guess my ultimate goal was to go BF but I thought the VFF would be a great way to slowly work into it, thanks again everyone.
 
best way to transition is to

best way to transition is to not transition...just go bare :)....but then again, I've been called an extreemist ;-). I just figured if I started off on the most difficult stuff I could find, the easy stuff would be, well....easy :). Worked for me, can't say if it will work for you or not. That's the great thing about learning, gotta find your own path. We just don't like it when you say you are doing one path, when you are doing a differnt one, it's too confusing for our simple minds :).
 
That happened to me and I

That happened to me and I shortened my stride and landed on midfoot instead of forefoot and did not feel anymore pain.
 
Let us know how you're

Let us know how you're doing. We're full of good insight and can help you no matter which road you decide to take.
 
If this doesn't feel better

If this doesn't feel better in a day or two, you might look at the possibility of a micro stress fracture. I don't want you to get alarmed if this is minor and short-lived. But if you can't reasonably walk on it without shooting pain after a couple days, you might talk to a doctor to get it checked out. I hope it goes away as something minor that you just overstressed. I too started in VFFs to "transition" and did TMTS, resulting in a left foot stress fracture in the front of the ball of my left foot.

Barefoot forces you to learn good form correctly, and doing bare only over a period of months allows that good form to become imbedded in muscle memory. Additionally, some of us have had the experience that the VFFs can actually accentuate problems with problem feet. My right foot feels fine in my VFFs, but my left never feels fully comfortable. For hiking and for tooling around, I love the VFFs, but not for running.

That said, start slowly (1/2 mile a day, every other day with a rest day in between) and build up after a couple weeks, adding maybe 1/4 mile per week as your soles adapt and your foot structure catches up with years of being shod.

Phil
 
Remember to walk around

Remember to walk around barefoot as much as possible, too. It makes a big difference in adapting. Some of us have found that if we run barefoot/minimalist, our day shoes must be minimalist, too, to avoid injury.
 
some of us just choose to

some of us just choose to never wear shoes :-D
 
I was way outof the community

I was way outof the community info loop when I started running last year and didn't know anything about Min shoes. I just ran 4 months BF before I tried VFF's. Now I love BF running and still do my races in my Bikilas. I've had my share of aches and developmental pains, esp in the Achilles and calves, and I'm really glad I didn't try to start out with the VFF's.

Good luck and take it e a s y.
 
I forgot to mention that a

I forgot to mention that a good way to adapt gently is to do barefoot drills and sprints in the shallow end of a pool. This was what really got me over the "hump" after a few aborted attempts that were unsuccessful.
 
Sounds like a stress fracture

Sounds like a stress fracture for sure. I have personally had this very symptom turn into a full fracture of the third metatarsal neck by "running through the pain". It is a painful and embarrassing mistake which seems to last and last. If it hurts to walk now, consider some very supportive shoes, or even an aircast boot for a couple of weeks. Definitely listen to your body. If you have just started running in VFFs, your leg muscles will likely have become stronger, and also quicker than your foot structure; and therefore you probably have avoided the blisters and other indicators that actual BFR would have provided to alert you of impending serious injury.
 
I think the boot is a good

I think the boot is a good idea for anyone with a stress fracture. It seems that those runners (shod or barefoot) who avoid it seem to take much longer to heal.

Welcome, Warrior!
 
BigBlue, how's the foot?I

BigBlue, how's the foot?

I had something similar happen when I started out in VFFs also. It ended up being my form and my foot strike. I did too much too soon and was forefoot "striking" rather than forefoot "landing". I pushed through it cause it felt like a bruise. I worked on my form, changed my brutal strike to a quiet, easy speed matching landing and one day on the treadmill my foot popped and the pain was gone. Weird.

I wear my VFFs everywhere I can't go barefoot and I'm barefoot everywhere else. I honestly think that's helped me aclimate my feet and muscles a lot faster!

Hope you recover quick!

-Jonny